I'm Here
by Zacatecas
Summary: An encounter in the dead of night leaves Lincoln with supernatural abilities, unnatural cravings, and a society hidden within his own. As he learns to adapt, a time will come when he must choose to either attempt to return to his old life, or continue on this new one. All the while, Royal Woods is about to become the epicenter of something grand.
1. Missing

**A/N: To start off, this fic is being co-written by my partner and me. This was mostly to be a fun idea to poke at; nothing was really intended to be published. But after working further on this story, developing the ideas, organizing the cause and effect events, a whole mess of 'what if's, along with a need to make something needlessly dark, this fic has been brought to you by my partner and myself.**

 **While I agree with you all that there are more than a few 'no such luck AU' stories, after watching the episode for ourselves, and loving the Loud House series, we felt the need to throw an idea out there too. On this fic, keep in mind, as written earlier in the AN, this fic is gonna get dark, and gruesome, to the best of our writing ability. (With some light-hearted moments, here and there.) Now then, before setting you off on this trip, please do have an open mind as we've mixed in some elements from other Medias. See if you can spot 'em. Some will be small one-time cameos, others will be crucial to the story. Do enjoy the read.**

On nights so calm, peaceful, and quiet, one would think all would be in deep slumber. However, in Royals Woods, one particular individual stirs, not within the confines of his habitation, but rather, curled up by the back entrance of his family's home. From a simple innocent lie leading to coincidental circumstances, the sole male sibling of the Loud House had been forced to sleep outside for superstitions lacking common sense and morality. Even when the superstition was proven false, used for a momentary act of self-interest, the ashen-haired boy was still barred from his home. At first, he felt annoyance, at both himself and his family. Himself; for purposely feeding on to the idea that his presence alone brought bad luck. And to his family; whom so easily bought into the idea, remained stubborn with the idea even when told the truth of his actions. Although, even when treated such as one would a house dog, he felt no great resentment towards his family. Sure, there was anger and hurt, but these were fleeting. Unlike his sisters, he didn't hold grudges or take anything too far. Of course, many would say that was a flaw Lincoln had.

Regardless, as he lay on the door step of the backyard, he lay with a smile on his lips, for he had come up with a plan to break the idea of him being bad luck to his family. His sister's game was the following day, and he had planned out everything he needed to prove his own rumor false. Although, even with his agenda set, a nudging thought came to mind; why was his family, in particular his sisters, so quick and easy to place blame on him while also dealing out harsher out lashes. He didn't think too much of it before, so why now was he pondering this thought? The more he thought of it, he quickly realized he wasn't exactly seen in a positive light by his peers either. And yet, for some reason, he held no grudge or resentment for those he held close even when they too had lashed at him for his misdeeds. Granted, he knew well he was deserving of some back lash for his schemes, but on more than one occasion he felt they might've gone too far.

These thoughts plagued his mind as he tried, time and time this night to fall into slumber. What was he to do? He had hoped to speak to one of his sisters, but neither would go near him, much less allow him to be in the house. His best friend was surely asleep, so no help would come from a half-asleep friend. With no one to hear him speak his mind, to help understand why it was that he felt all those ill sentiments now when he so easily brushed them off before; Lincoln lay on the door step, awake.

There are many unspoken rules that apply to all who inhabit this world, many of which have been challenged, none ever proven otherwise. One clear rule, which few stubbornly refuse to accept; all things must change. And when that change occurs, another rule comes into play; adapt. In order to survive in a constantly changing world, one must adapt. This lesson would come harshly to the Loud House as on this particular night, when all were supposed to be asleep, a mysterious scent caught the young boy's attention; one of sickly sweet aroma, intoxicating. Following the sudden flooding of his senses by this scent came an angelic voice, almost as if calling to him directly. The sound first came from the street, and so, while still in his pajamas, the boy followed. Upon reaching the street, he found it empty, and oddly enough, quiet. No dogs howling, no chirping from the critters of the night, none but the flowing wind carrying the scent ever down the street and the singing to entice him to follow. He knew not why he felt the urge to follow these anomalies, his body simple felt the need to act. His conscious all the while had attempted to stop himself, but at the moment, it was as if his body and his mind were disconnected. The walk was, oddly, too quiet, not a sight of a car or living being. While it was the middle of the night, he still felt like there would at least one passing car or bystander walking. Oddly enough, the walk led him to the edge of the forest; the thickets were of the same shade as that of nightshade. The angelic voice, now more clearly, called to him to enter. At this point, he was now in control of his body, but the warmth and safety he felt from had all but vanished. Without hesitation, he turned away and was about to run, that was, until he noticed a lone figure standing a few yards away from him.

In that moment, there was absolute silence, no scent or angelic voice. Only Lincoln and this unknown, whose figure was blanketed in the shade of the night, were present on the edge of the forest. The ashen-haired boy chose to walk to the side and avoid this unknown, who had said and done nothing for a bit. That is, until he had begun walking parallel to him. He could hear their footsteps, bare feet upon the pavement, like him. He spared a faint glance, cautious as he could be, a nearby lamp post shone a bit of light on the unknown. What caught Lincoln's eye, and baffled him as he did not notice sooner, the unknown appeared to be without clothing of any kind. Skin as light as the color grey could reach, and the anatomy resembling that of a normal human. But, that wasn't what was cause for concern; it was the fact that this unknown's face, upon being partially lit, had no facial features. None whatsoever; no eyes, mouth, nose, not even a sliver of hair to be seen. A mannequin. That's what he saw, and yet, the manner in which they moved was not that of plastic. Perhaps, a skintight suit? Thinking this to be some prank, like those he had seen online, he paid little mind to it, although he had to admit; it did disturb him. If this was some sort of prank, he could see the footage being in some compilation, and his sisters taunting him over it.

And again, he felt it; anger. Why?

Before being able to think on it further, he took another absent-minded glance towards the mannequin, only to discover it gone. He stopped, turning towards the street from which he originated; no one. As if the person seemed to have vanished. Well, he didn't show much reaction to his prank so Lincoln assumed the guy left.

How wrong he was.

As soon as he turned forward again, he was now a mere few inches face to face with the mannequin. He had yelped, jumping backwards whilst clutching his chest from the sudden surprise. He stared at where this unknown would presumably have eyes, neither made a sound nor moved. For a few seconds that is, for once Lincoln felt his heart rate calmed, it climbed ever so uncomfortably slow as the unknown took heavy steps, its legs moved as if being weighed down. Once only close enough, Lincoln could've sworn he heard a clicking sound. His heart began pounding fast enough that he began sweating; this prank was getting to be a bit much. But then, these kinds of videos were only popular because of how dedicated the guys were.

Of course, Lincoln was in no mood to indulge these people. He wasn't as tired as he was to begin with, but he wasn't exactly comfortable at the moment. "U-um…haha, real scary…can I go now?" He spoke meekly, hoping he'd be able to avoid further confrontation. That was the intention after all, these were just pranksters, people who pull off pranks on random folk, like killer clowns are ghosts in parks. That's all it was…wasn't it?

The only response to Lincoln's question was more of the clicking sound, the unknown leaning toward him, tilting its head to the right. What occurred next would forever be engraved in the boy's head as, as if perfectly symmetrical, a black line appeared down the middle of its face. In one swift motion, it opened, similarly to a mouth. Razor sharp teeth lined in two rows vertical to the 'mouth' opening. That did it, seeing that forced the young boy to turn and run towards the forest. As he did, he heard a growl come from behind him; he turned and saw the creature chasing after him, though, it did so in the same way a dog would its toy. It didn't grab him or bite him, it merely chased him around, appearing to simply want to scare and tire him out. He assumed this to be another part of the prank; his heart began pounding even harder as he ran deeper into the forest. Luckily, he had grown accustomed to the jagged formation of the Royal Woods forests after being forced by his sister Lynn to run it as an obstacle course. In the dark, though, with the adrenaline rush, and running for a good few minutes his eyes had accustomed to the night. Not entirely, but enough to help him keep going. Most of the run was jumping over and sliding under large branches. After a good five minute run, he turned around, believing he had lost his pursuer, only to pale as he could see the light grey creature jump from branch to branch in the same manner a wild cat springing from branch to branch, steadily closing the distance between them. While his attention was focused on his pursuer, Lincoln brushed against a tree, slightly losing his balance and scrapping against another branch, creating a noticeable gash across his left arm. Feeling the stinging pain, Lincoln had slowed down; hoping whatever was chasing him would see his wound and leave him be. Again, his intended outcome was not given; instead the unknown seemed more determined to get a hold of him. It's mouth had opened again, its teeth bared for all to see, and a hungrily growl that sent shivers up the boy's spine as he continued his run, albeit slower with an injured limb. Now staggering, and on the constant move, the boy had failed to notice a log in front of him, tripping and falling unto the forest floor.

The sounds of the creature growing ever closer drove Lincoln to pick himself off and continue running, though now with scrapped knees and his arm gash, he didn't think he'd get very far. And for once that night; he was right. Without warning, something thin and sharp had pierced his shoulder right from behind, lifting him high into the air as he screamed in pain. Whatever held him up, shook him and just as quickly threw him against a tree. Lincoln's body flopped around like a rage doll, blood oozing from both wounds. His blood soaked the forest grounds; he tried getting up, only to be pinned down by something piercing his right shoulder. Again, he screamed, but all of it was in vain. No one would be around to hear him; he had run too deep into the thickets. There was no one to save him, none to come to his aid. He had kept his eyes shut, believing this all to be a dream, he kept his eyes shut hoping he'd soon wake up. But the constant clicking sound, followed by the soft growling and heavy exhaled breathing on his head, Lincoln was shivering. He dared to look up, his eyes widened as he could see the creature with its right arm having seemingly replaced with a long spear-like limb, embedded in his shoulder. Its left arm shifting to a similar shape, through a process of which greatly disturbed the boy as he could hear the bones and skins breaking and reforming into its intended shape. It was here that the boy realized, this wasn't a dream, he was going to die in the forest, at the hands of something he didn't even know what to call. His life, albeit short, passed before his eyes. In last hitched attempt, he called out again for help, screaming at the top of his lungs. But none answered his call. None could hear him, and none would ever find him.

He didn't want to die like this, but what could he do? Excruciating pain kept him from trying to resist, and the creature atop him seemed more interested in toying with him before finishing him off. He looked around, hastily looking for anything to help him. And there it was; something white and sharpened lying beside a pile of what appeared to be a skull. He reached out, hoping to grasp the sharpened object, only to have his arm his hand pinned with the creature's pincer digging into his flesh. He let out another painful cry, tears rolled endlessly down his cheeks. More so when he felt something slim, warm, and slimy caressing his wounds. hesitantly, he looked down, his breath hitched as he realized what was occurring; creature appeared to have a rather long tongue, and it seemed to be using it to savor Lincoln's blood. He felt himself grow sick and weary as time went on. In a stroke of good fortune, the creature had removed its pincer from his palm and savored the droplets from the tip. All the while unaware of the boy reaching for the sharpened bone. Once grabbing hold, he didn't think twice before turning back, albeit painfully, and slashing the creature's chest. It had backed away from the attack, but not fast enough. Lincoln had managed to break from its grasp, or so he thought. Once the creature withered back, shrieking in pain, its left arm reformed back into an arm. Once Lincoln had risen to his feet, he turned around in an attempt to stand his ground, only for him to feel something pierce his stomach. The creature acted fast, losing all intent for play, and instead went straight for the kill. Though, upon looking down, the creature began shivering, it removed its hand quickly, leaving Lincoln's body to fall to its knees as he struggled for breath. He looked down to his wound, noticing that he no longer held the sharpened bone. For in its charge, he had embedded it in the creature's side, and in turn, their blood, in that short instance, had mixed. Its deep blackish crimson blood had mixed with his own, and to his horror, the blood began moving about, as if it had a mind of its own. It swiveled around in his, and in an instance, as if turning back a clock; Lincoln's wounds had closed with the blood returning within his body. His veins began showing all over his body, his body twisting itself in every kind of unimaginable way, and each time he bled, he screamed, he cried, and momentarily; he was silent. And this repeated, for who knows how long. But his body, oddly, regenerated every time. It continued doing so until he finally saw his world fading. And the pain, it faded too. He felt all pain wash away, every worry drained from his mind.

 **-Nearby-**

From afar, two pair of eyes watched the entire struggle go down, from the moment the boy had passed, to the moment he returned. They watched as the creature that had once hunted him, turn tail and run, rightfully so. From the moment the creature's wretched blood mixed with his, to the reaction his body had with the mixture. The two kept their distance, neither had any intent of approaching this boy. Not yet at least, patience was crucial. The outcome of this little accident could go three ways, and the two held their breaths for two of the three options.

"What will be done?" The female observer asked, her eyes glued to the body below, twisting around, as if itching to tear itself apart.

"Nothing yet, boss'll wanna hear about this. If he lives…lucky us, right, sugar?" The second, a male, taunted in a sultry tone. With the little lighting from the moon, little could be seen of these individuals, other than the sole feature they shared; ashen white hair and pale grey skin. The female kept a somber expression as the shrieks of the boy died down, and instead, ever so slowly, a growl began to arise from his twisted body.

Nothing. That's all Lincoln could see; nothing. No sound, no sight, not even the feeling of having a vessel. He was there, but at the same time, he wasn't. He couldn't remember what drove him to this state, it had only been a second ago, or was it an hour since he passed out. But, he was at peace, calm. Or was he? What exactly was he feeling? Could he feel anything at all? He didn't know, but he was here, and that was all he knew. Seeing the opportunity to reflect in peace, Lincoln recounted all of his memories to himself, even some he had suppressed. Twas an odd thing, to recount a memory of oneself in their infancy. He could see, from his point of view, his family giving him the utmost attention, particularly, two of his sisters; Luna and Leni. And odd thing, to consider Leni, the ditzy blonde was mostly in her own little world, never really reaching out unless it came to mind. For hours, maybe days they were, Lincoln watched his whole life play out. And through it all, there was no sentiment, no regret, no hatred, joy, fear. There was absolutely nothing tethering him to his family. But why? He didn't hate his family, he loved them. Even when they were needlessly excessive, which was often mind you.

He felt…nothing. Was this…death? Did he die? He continued watching his life play before his mind, the images of him near the forest, the creature that attacked him; it all began making sense now. With the injuries he took, of course he would've died. That was easily cleared up. But then, what exactly killed him? It toyed with him for the better part of the night, so why did it all of a sudden decide to run? On that note, why did it run from him the second their bloods mixed? All these questions would never get an answer, and as it stood, he just didn't care anymore. Once his vision had faded again to nothing, he readied himself for his eternity, alone in this abyss. That is, until a spark lit before him. Another spark lit, followed by a third a final spark, this time bursting into a large flame. And in that moment, he felt warmth. Lincoln was flooded with his senses once again, all that he once thought lost, were now his once again.

 _"_ _Rekindled…"_

He heard a voice, feminine, but in a way, similar to his. Odd as it was, it comforted him to hear her speak. This voice was soothing in its tone, and yet, he couldn't help but hear an almost faint echo when she spoke.

 _"…_ _the old light will never be, for the new brings with it our breed."_

And with that, a light flashes before him, blinding Lincoln, until a painful ringing in his head awoke him. Slowly, and as he regained the sensation of movement and fatigue, his eyes opened ever so cautiously. The bright light of the sun kept his vision to a minimum. By instinct, he used his right hand as a shield to block the sun's rays. Groggily, he arose, his eyes slowly adjusting, and his vision of the area around him normalizing. For a moment, his nose twitched, he smelt something…savory. His stomach growled, loudly, as he began looking around to wherever that intoxicating aroma was originating from. What snapped his eyes wide open was the sight of a half-eaten forest creature laid before him. He couldn't tell what it was; a doe or buck, but he could slightly identify the corpse by the antlers and the dismembered hooves. What bothered him was the lack of disgust or irritation for this scenery, but rather, from this bloody mess was where the enticing aroma was originating from. He held his palms to his mouth, attempting to block any further sliver of saliva from oozing out of his mouth.

It was then that he noticed his palms to be sticky, hesitantly glancing down, his eyes widened at the sight of dried blood on his fingers. In his horror, he arose too quickly, stepping and cracking something beneath his feat. Glancing around, his vision was greeted with the sight of a variety of bones, and rotting limbs. He was confused, immensely so. Last he remembered, he was at the mercy of a strange beast, and yet here he stood, surrounded in a graveyard of forest animals. Was the creature responsible for this? No. If it was, wouldn't he also be dead?

A thought occurred, one that greatly worried the ashen-haired boy; did he do this? How could he? He had no memory of it. If that was the case, then who did this? Checking himself after remembering the squabble he had with the creature, he failed to find any of the wounds he had sustained. It was as if he wasn't hurt at all. Although, his pajamas had seen better days. They were ripped, soaked in dirt, grime, and blood. As slowly as he could, Lincoln walked over to the sound of a running stream. Sure enough, he had found a steady stream of water. Without thinking twice, he washed his hands, the icy cold river water felt refreshing against his skin. Any and every sight of blood and dirt on his skin he cleared away. Upon glancing at his own reflection, he was startled to find that his skin had dimmed to the same color as his gothic sibling, and on further inspection, he found what looked like a black smudge on the corner of his right eye's sclera. For a moment, he began to process what he had awoken to, and he couldn't for the life of him explain what was going on. Nor could he begin to describe how he felt being covered in the gory remains of the wildlife. The sounds of the bushes nearby startled him, but also brought out an odd trait he never displayed; his ears twitched, as did his nose, his body was reacting accordingly to its surroundings. Both picked up a vaguely familiar scent nearby, but when he made an attempt to approach the bush, he heard a twig snap from behind him, almost intentionally. This one had a scent he did not recognize, but upon turning in the direction he noticed an odd sight; a clean pair of blue jeans, white socks, his actual shoes, clean underwear, an orange shirt, and a black hoodie. All of which were his size, which didn't surprise him since they were his to begin with. How did he know? He could smell his scent off them…letting that bit of information sink in, Lincoln disposed of his pajamas and quickly clothed himself and…he didn't know which way to go.

Luckily for him, he caught wind of another scent; burning charcoal. He walked towards the scent, taking his time as he could feel himself slowly accustoming to moving his body. It took a good forty-five minutes, but he was soon within flooded with a variety of sounds; car engines, sounds of children screaming and laughing. He approached cautiously, thinking he'd be wandering into some random location, Lincoln stuck to the shadow of the thickets, albeit not as expertly as his younger sister, Lucy.

 _'_ _Ungrateful'_

His head snapped quickly to the side, then behind him. But, there was nothing. He heard that voice again, the feminine one. And yet, it wasn't soothing, but rather the tone felt similar to that of his gothic sister. Thinking it was his imagination, Lincoln searched around for any sign to tell him where he was, and sure enough, he caught eye of a familiar sight; a billboard near the entrance to the forest, welcoming campers to the grounds. He had seen it before; when his family took camping trips. Establishing where he was enticed him to move out of the forest, but something in him begged for his hoodie to be of use; basically to hide himself. Ignoring this odd plea, he emerged from the thickets, catching the eye of a few. He said nothing, nor did he pay much attention to the. Instead, he walked past them, as if they were nothing to him. Of course, with the occasional glances, he noticed a few folks with their cellphones in hand. Once he had left the camp grounds, he made his way home.

Thinking back on it; he wondered how it was that he walked all the way from his home to the edge of the forest. It was almost as if he was under hypnosis. Lincoln, for that moment, chuckled lightly at himself for making that assumption. But, that faint laughter felt dry as he remembered what happened to him. It felt real, too real, all of it. And it had to have happened, why else would he have suddenly woken up in the forest. As he walked past another neighborhood street, he noticed a paper stapled against a telephone pole. For curiosity's sake, he approached it to see whose pet had gone missing.

To his shock, he recognized the face all too well; it was the same kid he had gotten into a little fight with over for some brand of cereal. The kid had gotten missing since…looking closer, he realized it was a few days before Lynn's last game.

 _'_ _Abuser'_

Again, heard the voice, and yet, it came from no one. He took one last look at the poster before moving along, not noticing, with a gust of wind, flew by another missing poster, this one for Lincoln. As he walked calmly towards his family home, the ashen-haired boy couldn't help but feel as if there were eyes on him. He had felt that way since the forest, but after awakening, he felt his sense much more sensitive to the world around him. And as such, he not only sensed their presence, but he also caught their scent at times. While he couldn't identify the one, he could most certainly remember the one other. Although, he still couldn't put a name on it.

Finally, after walking for almost an hour, the ashen boy arrived home. However, he took quick notice of the lack of Vanzilla, his family's vehicle. Maybe this was a stroke of good luck; he didn't exactly want to deal with his family right now. Another stroke of luck, the key beneath the mat was still there, allowing him to simply walk in. Once inside, he took in the sight, as if he hadn't seen his home in years. Gazing towards the living room, he noticed a stack of papers in the living room. Before getting a chance to see what the contents of the papers were about, Lincoln felt his stomach growl. Chuckling lightly to himself, he walked into the kitchen to look for a small snack. He opened the fridge and found a pudding cup, the last one apparently.

'Sorry, Lola.' He thought to himself as he grabbed the small treat. As he was to indulge, he took the first spoonful, and almost immediately; he gagged. For some strange reason, the taste of the pudding repulsed him, as he spat out the contents. Thinking the pudding was probably past expiration date, he instead made himself a small sandwich. And as he took the first bite, same with the pudding, he threw up the bits he had chewed and coughed loudly, as if he had been forced to down spoiled milk. Feeling slightly worried, he raided the fridge, trying everything he could get his hands on; vegetables, drinks, junk food, butter. Everything was rejected from his body, that is, until his nose twitched. He caught wind of a few slabs of raw meat thawing by the kitchen sink. His mouth had started salivating again, only this time, he made no attempt to stop himself. He caught hold of the slab, and with little hesitation, his eyes had rolled back, his normal teeth had sharpened into lined pikes, his mouth had widened as he proceeded to indulge himself. A wave of pleasure rippled through the boy's body, the sensation of raw meat, even when preserved, it was bliss to him.

After enjoying his meal, however, he quickly took notice of what he had done. A pang of shame and guilt took, but not for long. He heard Vanzilla pull u in the driveway, panic soon took over as he realized the mess he caused in his search for food. Without thinking straight and hearing the front door lock open, he quickly opened the vents and dove in. closing it just as his family entered. But, unlike any usual day, no one spoke. Instead they were all silent, they all kept their heads low as they made their way into the living room, some of the older sisters had papers in their hands. As they sat down, they placed their papers on the living room table.

"So…anyone hear anything?" The eldest of the siblings, Lori, asked her younger sisters. To which, they all shook their heads solemnly. "A week…he's been gone almost a week, and we literally have no clue or hint of where he is?"

Lincoln kept his ear open to the conversation going on below, whilst also figuring a way to sneak past them all.

"And you know something? This didn't have to happen if 'someone' wasn't so egotistic." Luna snarled at Lynn, receiving no reaction from her, not even a glare or scowl. Her stare was simply empty and emotionless. "What's wrong, sis, nothing to say? Sure had a lot to say to Lincoln when you banned him didn't you?" Again, Lynn remained quiet, unwilling to answer.

Before she spoke up again, Leni placed a hand on her sister, urging her to stop. "Please don't, sis. We can't be fighting each other when Linky needs us."

"GUYS!" Luan had burst through the door with her phone in hand. All eyes were on her as she had taken a quick second to catch her breath. "He's been seen!" At that instance, she was swarmed by her siblings, all of them asking the same thing; where? "Get this, dad got a call from one of his friends from work, he said he saw a white-haired boy walk out of the forest today. Like, he just casually walked right out and into the city." Without a moment more to waste, the girls rushed towards the door and towards the Royal Woods forest in the hopes of finding their brother, who, unbeknownst to them, was right over their heads the entire time.

Taking in what she said earlier, Lincoln couldn't understand how he had been gone for almost a whole week. What had he been doing in all that time? It didn't feel like that long, in fact, he had believed it to be an overnight thing. Once he was sure they were gone, he dropped from the vents and dusted himself off. He wondered why it was he decided to hide from his sisters instead of talking to them, though, before he could ponder the thought further, his nose twitched again, catching the scent of the same two individuals from the forest. Without waiting for an invitation, he ran towards the backyard, thinking he'd confront them there. What he didn't expect was when he opened the door; to be punched and knocked unconscious. As he lay on the floor, dazed and seconds from dozing off, he heard a clear voice over him.

"Don't worry, all will be explained soon, brother." And with that, Lincoln passed out. Three figures stood over the unconscious boy's body; the two from the forest, and a newcomer. The latter kneeled down and inspected the lad himself. He took only a moment before turning to his associates. "Are you sure it's only been a week?"

"Yes, he awoke early, but he has displayed all the normal symptoms so far. It's safe to say he's now one of us." The female voice commented, while gesturing her partner to haul Lincoln.

"And your target?" The newcomer asked, the question being for the two present.

"She got away, brother." The male answered.

"Disappointing…but we'll deal with that later. For now..." He gazed at Lincoln, his expression unchanging from neutral.

"Poor thing, doesn't even know what he's been pulled into." The male commented, looking over the unconscious Lincoln with pity.

When the two partners looked back to their associate, a shiver crawled up their spine as they saw a faint smile curl on their associate's lips. "Then, it is our responsibility to teach him, properly, what it means to be one of us. A Ghoul."

 **And done, wow, this fic is really fun, now that I think about it. Please keep an open mind, the story is barely starting and I'm hoping it'll at least be an enjoyable read. Anyway, yes, this story will revolve around Lincoln and his little transformation into a Ghoul. What is a Ghoul? (At least in this AU) Stay tuned and find out in the next coming chapters. Thank you for reading.**


	2. Found

A ringing headache, pain that came with a twitching nose, a constant beeping noise, and bright lights overhead; these were what awaited Lincoln as he awoke from his unconsciousness. The ashen-haired boy groaned as he sat up, he glanced around, his vision mildly blurry, but enough to make out details of his surroundings. It wasn't hard to tell, he'd seen this before, more than he'd like to count; the hospital. Which one? He didn't know. Granted, Royal Woods wasn't grand but it had its fair share of medical centers. Glancing around, the boy was surprised in the realization that he had his own room, most of the time he had to share. He took notice of the hospital gown he had been switched into; at the very least he was allowed to keep his underwear on. Of course, a more immediate thought came to mind; how exactly did he get here? Since he awoke in the forest, a plethora of questions swelled in his head, and none had been answered. He grew irritated, wondering what was going to happen to him. The last thing he remembered was being home, and soon realizing that he had been missing for a week. But, nothing of those seven days came to mind, no memories, and no flashbacks. All he remembered was being injured, and then his world fading to black. But then, it hit him, the pain he felt, his bones twisting and turning, time and time again. He remembered the excruciating pain, a moment of numbness, and then more pain following after. He remembered watching his veins turn black, his body seemingly on the verge of breaking, but there were no tears in his skin. Lastly, the hunger. When he awoke, there was none. But, after his long walk home, he grew hungry, and when he attempted to eat; his body rejected almost everything. What didn't force him to gag was the meat laid on the kitchen counter. And then it hit him, the feelings he felt eating the raw meat; it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. To the point, it satisfied him greatly, but it also left him with a sliver of shame and guilt afterwards. Adding to it, as he ate, he remembered seeing his reflection in a small mirror on the kitchen wall, and his heart sank; it was vaguely similar to the creature that almost killed him that night. Bringing his knees to his chest, huddling closer to himself Lincoln buried his head into his knees and whispered to himself. "What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing really." Came a voice he hadn't expected, causing the boy to slightly jump whilst clutching his heart. The voice came from what appeared to be a male doctor with a clipboard in hand. He had short light brown hair, light skin, and appeared to be almost as tall as his father. He came out of nowhere; Lincoln didn't even hear the door open. Although, without so much as looking at him, the doctor pulled up a seat and sat down beside the bed with his eyes still glued to the clipboard. "Well, at least nothing that would merit further testing and examination." The man gave him a simply smile, it didn't feel forced, but it also didn't feel right. "Welcome back to the land of the living. You were found on the edge of the woods, and despite being in said forest for a week; you're in surprisingly good health. Albeit the obvious scratches and bruises you'd get from traversing the woodlands barefoot. An assumption can be made that the cloths you have on now, you might've 'taken' after whatever you had to begin with were tattered during your trek through the wilderness. And I'd make a case over your white hair, but your files say it's natural, so I don't have anything new to report. Although..." The doctor commented, right before fixing his glasses, his nose twitching while his eyes turned to Lincoln. An eerie chill crawled up his spine as the doctor's faint smile seemingly widened ever so slightly, and canine teeth were partially bared from his upper lip. "...I've heard reports of a little area by Hangman's Cove, a few miles into the forest. Apparently, a rescue team found a stockpile of bones and dismembered limbs. And next to a creek, just a little ways away, Ace Savvy pajamas with the initials LL inscribed in them. You wouldn't happen to know about that, would you?" In that instance, the boy's heart began beating fast, it being noted by the machine next to him. All the while, the faint grin on the doctor remained as his eyes returned to his clipboard. The doctor rose up and walked over to a small cart by the door, pulling closer to the bed. Atop the cart was a tray, the lingering smell left Lincoln with an idea of the food inside. "Smells delicious, doesn't it?" The doctor asked.

The ashen-haired boy stuttered, responding "I w-w-wouldn't know, the top is on."

"You're right, silly me..." the doctor leant over and slowly opened the plastic top, revealing the small meal left for Lincoln; a piece of grilled chicken, along with steamed vegetables; peas, corn, and green beans. "How about now?" The smell flooded the boy's senses, a cruel truth hit him; the food smelled heavenly, but he could feel his throat gag at the mere thought of trying to eat food at the moment.

"T-t-thanks, but...I'll pass..." Lincoln waved off the offer. "I'm not hungry."

"Oh, well. That does bring up another set of questions, doesn't it? Like; what did you have to eat when you were lost?" The doctor asked, gently pushing the cart away. "I'm a little curious."

"Aren't these questions the police should be asking?" Lincoln asked meekly, hoping the doctor would stop asking.

"Oh, I see." The doctor mumbled, what occurred next would, like the night of his attack, be engraved in his memory for a lifetime. The doctor leaned backwards a bit, his body made a slithery, crackling sound as it reshaped itself. His clothes dissolved in an instance, and just as quickly, reformed into that of an officer he knew from his school. "This better, sugar?"

The boy was at a loss for words, sitting in front of him was a clear copy of his school's officer. His heart began racing again as he felt, in the moment this person was shapeshifting, a similar feeling he felt when he was attacked. He wanted to run, to scream. But nothing escaped his lips, instead, he was helpless. If this thing was what attacked him, he was in no position to fight back; this would truly be his end.

"Are you scared?" The unknown asked, removing his shades to reveal black scleras and milky white iris. His mouth had split into four sections; jagged teeth were aligned on the four separate mandibles. Even with his mouth in that form, he still spoke clearly enough for Lincoln to understand, but the fact the fact that he had yet to close his mandibles disturbed the ashen-haired boy. Locked in direct eye contact, Lincoln nodded, tears were beginning to form as he could picture how much more slowly and with leisure this creature would treat him. He could easily cry for help, but if he did, who would respond? And would help arrive before he was plunged into darkness again? Instead, he remained perfectly still, only small whimpers escaped his lips. "Are you going to answer my questions?" Again, Lincoln nodded. "Good." The unknown smiled, it now spoke with a laid back tone. Though, rather than ask questions for answers he already knew, the unknown intended to lighten up the situation. "I have to admit..." the officer started, shaking the back of his head before shifting again, only this time, he reformed into someone who looked to be around Leni's age, he had long dark grey hair tied into a ponytail, his skin was that of a slightly darkish grey. His eyes remained the same, but there was a feature that caught Lincoln's eye; a mole just beneath his right eye, and what looked like a tattoo of a black heart on his upper left cheek. The more this unknown shifted, he could've sworn this person was a girl, but something about him screamed 'boy'. His mouth had returned to normal, or, whatever counted as normal in this situation. "I'm kind of jealous, when I turned; it took me at least three weeks and a half to come back to my senses." The voice didn't help, it was borderline feminine and slightly masculine, if that made any sense. But that thought was quickly overshadowed by what he had just said.

"T-turned?" That word echoed in the ashen-haired boy's mind, until the unknown nodded.

"Yea, that thing that attacked you in the forest, do you remember it?" He lowered his voice, to a whisper-like level.

Lincoln nodded solemnly, his mind flashed images of what occurred.

The unknown's eyes widened a bit before gently face-palming himself. "What am I saying? Of course you remember. It's not something you'd forget so easily, especially after what it did to you?"

Lincoln's eyes widened, he realized whoever this was spoke as if he knew what had been done to him. But then, if this guy knew what happened to him, perhaps, he had an explanation, and maybe even a way to deal with it. With a rekindled spark of hope in his eyes, Lincoln asked. "What did it do to me?" He held his breath, unsure over whether he wanted to know anymore. Yea, he was damn sure confused and wanted to know what happened to him in that week, but given recent events, he suddenly had second thoughts. Was this like an infection, was he going to become like the creature that attacked him? Or was he, by some miraculous reason, just lucky to be alive.

"Putting it as simple as I can; coursing through your veins is no longer the blood of a human's. It's the same as the thing that attack you, and the blood flowing through my veins. You are one of us; a Ghoul." Lincoln's entire mind set was on the verge of a break down, he wasn't ready for this answer, nor did he want it to be true. At first, like any, he was skeptical, but thinking back on it, and with the boy standing before him, it didn't sound all that farfetched. But, to be told he was now the same as the creature that attacked him, it disturbed him. Adding to his swirling emotions, it began to make the sudden appetite for raw meat make a bit more sense. But that raised another question.

"What's a Ghoul?"

At that moment, the creature calling itself a Ghoul, stayed silent. Though, not for an attempt to avoid the boy's questions, but rather, he didn't know how to answer that. It was easy to give a simple definition, but the Ghouls he was referring to were anything but simple. Taking a moment to collect his thoughts, the unknown offered a hand to Lincoln. "Before I answer, allow me to introduce myself; I'm Taurus." Only for a moment Lincoln hesitated, but he shook the ghoul's hand, albeit meekly.

"Lincoln." He responded with sharing his name as well, quietly.

"Nice to meet you. And to answer your question; if you want a detailed history, small as it is, you'll need to speak to the Primordial. But, what I can tell you; Ghouls, in our case, we're a taboo. In the sense that the only forms of nutrients our bodies don't reject are raw meat, and, believe it or not, any vegetation that would normally be counted as poisonous to a human…at least to our current knowledge. Still, hunger for raw meat is common, all ghouls have that craving. Also common features are pale or dark grey skin, different shades of white and grey, or pure ebony hair. As for eyes; it's a gamble, but the scleras are always black, and the iris range from white, yellow, red, or violet. Lucky for you, your hair was already white, and your eyes look like they're still in their normal human color. Skins a little paler, but that'd be easier to explain than 'demonic' eyes, or so that one nun told me. But, keep in mind, this is only according to what my kin and I have seen. There are still questions we don't have the exact answers to; only guesses and on-the-field experience."

Lincoln took everything spoken in like a sponge, but, the way he described a ghoul, his immediate thought was of his younger sister Lucy, save for the white hair. Still, he was shocked to learn that such a group of people existed, and he was one of them. That fact still had yet to take root in him. And to top it all off, he realized that the creature that attacked him was also branded a ghoul by Taurus. So, did that mean Lincoln would become the same as that creature? Blood hungry and able to twist his body to such an inhuman degree just to toy and…it was in that train of thought that he realized another little fact he had overlooked. The ghoul that attacked him had the intention of eating him, and it was just confirmed that he was of the same group as that beast. So, did that mean Lincoln would crave human meat? Simply imagining it left him with a twisted knot in his stomach, and a trail of saliva running down his mouth. Immediately, he wiped away the saliva and gave a worried glance at Taurus.

"B-But, that thing that attacked me, it's also a ghoul? Am I going to become like that?" His tone was rising, at an alarming rate, as did his heartbeat. In an attempt to calm him down, Taurus placed a hand on Lincoln's shoulder and shushed in a rhythmic tone, almost in the manner a father would to a child.

"Slow down, kiddo, you're not even close to becoming a Feral." Lincoln calmed, be it slowly, he then looked at him with a confused expression. Sensing the question that would follow, Taurus clarified. "When a ghoul starves themselves; for some reason their minds grow weak and vulnerable to their primal desires. Their minds deteriorate; they begin to see everything as food; humans, and even fellow ghouls. Accompanied with long periods of isolation, ghouls will devolve, their sense for reasoning is discarded, and they become feral ghouls; constantly hunting, always hungry, and animal in nature. But, for a ghoul, to starve oneself is to go at least weeks without consuming meat of any kind. Now, I know what you're thinking, why would a ghoul starve himself? Well, not every ghoul is fond of the idea of needing to eat raw meat. Some think they can sustain themselves by other means…but, I'm sure you already know what happens when a ghoul tries." His words made Lincoln feel slightly more relaxed. However, he wondered if what he saw in the forest was his doing? If so, then he shouldn't have to worry about starving himself, right?

Taurus reached into his coat, which Lincoln had just only taken notice. The teen had seemed to have shifted his cloths as well, possibly when the ashen-haired boy wasn't paying attention. Still, now knowing what had occurred to him, his mind swarmed with new questions, many of which worried him. One, for example, was if he would start to crave human flesh, like those of who he shared a roof with. For a moment, he did feel legitimately worried, but there was a gnawing feeling in that back of his head that made discarded that particular sentiment. He couldn't understand it, but thinking on it, he wondered if by learning that he was no longer human; he no longer felt any sense of emotional connection to his siblings. Now, at first glance, he scoffed at the idea; he had lived with his family all his life, and even with their ups and downs; he loved them. And he constantly showed it…but, could he say the same for them? Yes, there was the occasional kind gesture, touching moment, and there was a possibility they were going to be feeding him constant attention once he came home. But…in his mind, he knew; it was fleeting. Once he was home, yea, there would be touching moments and the kindness he so wanted from his family, but once time passed, and all this was behind them, life would go back to how it was prior to his disappearance. Constant taunts, being blamed for things he didn't do, the joke of his siblings, and the constant reminder; no matter how much he did for them, they would rarely return the affection. For the first time in a long while, Lincoln felt anger growing in him. But, this wasn't the same kind he felt before. He enjoyed feeling this way, images of him standing before his 'family' the fear in their eyes as he held this new form of power over them. Although, this particular image held something he quickly feared; his loss of whatever humanity he had left. He snapped out of his momentary train of thought, shaking his head from the sudden headache that arose.

"You ok, sugar?" Taurus asked, placing a hand on Lincoln's shoulder.

Lincoln nodded, but glanced up to his fellow ghoul. "Sugar?"

Taurus chuckled lightly to himself, rubbing the back of his head. "Sorry about that, kinda stuck with me after a little job I took out when I still lived out west. Ever been to San Francisco?" When the ashen-haired boy shook his head, Taurus chuckled again. "It's nice, the view is beautiful, not a big fan of the cold though. Just 'cause I can change my form to something warmer doesn't mean I can't feel the damned cold."

"Will I be able to change my form too?" Lincoln asked, a glimmer of excitement appeared in his eyes as he imagined all the possible forms he could take.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but that little trick is my specialty alone." Taurus declared proudly, though, when he noticed Lincoln's dejected expression, he quickly added with. "Only kind of transformation you'll be able to do is…well, let's save that little bit for another time. But, one thing to keep in mind about ghouls is that we develop unnatural abilities. I have a few friends who can control elements, some who can shape their bodies into weapons, some with abilities that more or less are for illusionary effect alone. As for you; who knows what kind of power you'll develop. You know, you don't seem so…I don't know, torn up about this."

Lincoln chuckled dryly, wondering the exact same thing. He was just told that is no longer human, and in addition, he must survive on eating flesh and should he resist the urge to do so, he will go mad and become feral. He honestly was shocked, and somewhat excited. He never imagined something like this actually being a reality, hell, he was still processing the very idea of there being ghouls with supernatural powers, and he had so many more questions to ask. But before he could…

There was a sudden knock on the door, rhythmic, almost as if a code. Taurus rose up, and wasting no time, he reshaped himself back to his doctor form. After doing so, he fixed his clothing, assuring nothing was out of place and writing something on a small torn scrap of paper. "Time's up, kiddo, I gotta head out and continue this little role." He commented, earning both a confused expression, followed by a growing fear in Lincoln's eyes. Before having to leave, Taurus sat on the bed beside Lincoln whilst handing the ashen-haired boy the paper. "Believe me, kiddo, if it was up to me I'd take you with me. To be surrounded by your fellow ghouls. But things aren't that simple. I'll explain later, just keep this with you. And play along." Lincoln received the scrap of paper and quickly hid it under his body. As the doors opened, Taurus was on his feet, writing…something on the clipboard as two officers entered.

"Hey doc, how's he looking?" One of the officers asked to which Taurus hot them a neutral expression, slowly shifting to one of disappointment.

"He's healthy, physically, minus the smaller bruises and cuts; he seems to have fended well for himself. However, I'm afraid I cannot speak so positively of his emotional state. Any question I've asked him, he's either responded with a nod or a shake of his head. He stares off into space, and has refused to eat anything. As of now, I want him here for the night, in case we missed something. But, after we run our tests, he's free to go home." The doctor summarized, giving Lincoln an idea of what angle to play in this scenario. The officers looked to one another, then back to the ashen-haired boy.

"Kind of early for a release, considering he's been lost in the forest for about a week, don't you think?" The first officer asked, a single brow rose upon learning that this doctor was going to easily declare the boy fit to go home, Taurus's remained firm on his decision.

"Normally, I'd agree, but I'm afraid we're under-staffed at the moment, and with his tests showing him fit enough to be discharged early, I really don't have a choice, its procedure."

"Alright, we're gonna need to ask him some questions, standard procedure." The second officer commented. Taurus nodded, right before making his way towards the door, though, just as he was to pass the officers, he whispered to them.

"Would you mind sending in his family after you're done?" When the second officer nodded, Taurus proceeded to make his way out, looking back only once to see the ashen-haired boy. A faint smile emerged on his lips as he watched Lincoln do exactly as he told the officers; he stared aimlessly into space, responding to none of their questions, at least not verbally.

As the doctor stepped out and closed the door behind him, he was almost instantly swarmed by what he could only guess where the boy's family, judging by the faintly familiar scents he caught on them. Each was bombarding him with questions, loudly and in a speed that he couldn't make out. He noticed a few with reddened eyes and dry tears along with oncoming new tears. At first, he was slightly touched by their worry over their sibling, but that was quickly replaced with ever growing annoyance. Before actually snapping at them to shut their mouths, it appeared as if their folks did it for him.

"Girls! Enough, leave the doctor be." The apparent father of the children had taken quick control of the situation, instantly silencing his daughters, much to the relief of the ghoul. Of course, this didn't mean he was free yet. "How is my son, doctor?" The patriarch of the Loud family asked, he seemed almost a complete mess, as did his wife who held an infant in her hands. "Is there anything you can tell us?"

Taurus looked at this rather large family, feeling a faint sense of pity; he gazed at his notes and pulled the father and mother aside. The girls were about to follow, but were quickly told to stay put. Once the doctor and the Loud parents were far enough away, Taurus held back what he wanted to rant about, and kept to a subtle approach. "As to his physical health, your son is, while mildly bruised from what I assume aimlessly wandering the forest, he has yet to say anything. Rest assured, I don't believe his sudden disappearance is connected to the other missing boy. However, I'm wondering what would entice a young boy to simply leave his home in the middle of the night and wander into the forest. I'm even more surprised that, with a family as large as yours, no one had seen him or noticed his absence within the home. If you would pardon my comment, my only intention is to piece together an accurate assumption." He glanced to both parents who were now showing extreme guilt on their faces, understanding clearly that they had a part to play in their son's disappearance. "Since he doesn't appear to be in any immediate danger, I'm going to recommend he stay for the night, and tomorrow he'll be cleared for discharge." This snapped both parents out of their trance with both confusion, and a hint of anger.

"Don't you think that's a bit too soon, they only found him a few hours ago?" The mother asked.

To which he repeated what he had told the officer. "We're understaffed ma'am, and with no sign of any possible or immediate danger to your son's health, I see no reason to keep him here. You can pick him up tomorrow in the morning. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have another matter to attend to." As he turned around and was prepared to leave, something came over the matriarch of the family that prompted her to suddenly ask, out of curiosity. "And what about the other boy? Do you know if they found him?" For a moment, Taurus stopped; he turned to the two parents, acknowledging the siblings slightly closer and listening in on their conversation. Now, he had two options, tell them the truth, or lie.

"They did…what was left of him." With a grim tone, he chose honesty. As he walked away, he took notice of their paled expressions, realizing that due to their actions, their son could've met a similar fate. As he walked further down the hall, the ghoul turned his gaze to the outline of the forest. He knew after this, finding his original target would become all the more difficult. However, he couldn't contain a rather content smile, content that Lincoln's transformation didn't end the way it more commonly did. Now, all that was left; inform his superior, and the next stage of their plan could commence.

Frozen in place, the Loud family took a moment to allow what the doctor had said to sink in. The boy missing prior to Lincoln had apparently been found, but not in one piece. Whatever occurred to him, it was evident that their ashen-haired boy could've met a similar fate. Rita, while grateful her son was found and was in no danger according to the doctor, sobbed uncontrollably in the arms of her husband. Their daughters weren't any better, how could they be? On the account of a silly superstition, they nearly sentenced their only brother to death. Lori was comforting her younger sibling, Leni, who was sobbing quietly in her arms. Lori was the eldest of the bunch, and while she admittingly pulled off similar stunts in the past, they've never taken things to this extreme. So why with Lincoln? She was riddled with guilt, and didn't know if she could face her younger sibling in his condition. The younger siblings were the same, each of them were filled with guilt for their actions, primarily Lynn and Luna, whom were both keeping to themselves. Lynn sat alone, quietly, the weight of her actions kept her from so much as glancing to the door to where her younger brother was. She was angry, with herself and Lincoln. With herself for starting the bad luck idea, and her brother for running with it. Luna, stood silently by the door, she had images in her head of how her brother's condition was. This incident hit her the hardest, she prided herself in the claim that she had the closest relationship with her brother, but she turned her back on him when he needed her the most. When he finally told the truth, instead of believing him, she chose to stick with the damned superstition.

The first day, they thought he had gone to his friend's home in a fit of anger at them. But, after calling all possible people he could've been staying with and none had seen him, red flags started to fly, especially after remembering seeing posters of another boy, eerily similar to Lincoln, disappearing not too long ago. The days following, the family spent all of their free time searching for their lost sibling, to no avail. And now, with the boy they've searched for the entire week waiting behind a closed door, the family feared over how he'd receive them. Was there anger, rejection, fear? Neither knew, not until the officers finished their questioning.

After an hour, little to nothing gained from asking the ashen-haired boy of the details of his disappearance, the officers exited the room. Seeing the family waiting outside, the two officers took the parents aside, while commenting that the siblings could go in so long as they didn't make too much noise. Needing no further say, the Loud sisters almost stampeded past the two men and went in to see their sibling. They stopped once they had seen him, his eyes were almost empty. His skin had become paler, almost eerily close to the same shade as Lucy's. And in their grand entrance, he made no reaction. There wasn't any sign of joy, relief, fear, or anger. His face was simply void of emotion. With each sister weighed by guilt, none approached, for fear of inciting a negative response. Though, it was Leni who took a chance.

"Linky?" She approached her brother cautiously, sitting beside him. "Linky?" she called to him again, hoping he'd turn her way. Eventually, he did, but unbeknownst to his siblings, he was, since they entered, fighting a burning rage inside. One that wanted to rant and come clean over all the times they had taken him for granted. Of course, he never had this much trouble before; keeping his negative emotions bottled up. But as it stood, it seemed that he was nearly on the verge of blowing a gasket. What stopped him was the constant need to remind himself that no matter what, his family loved him.

But, would they still love him if they discovered he was a ghoul? Would they show tears of love, not fear? Would they be so worried if they knew that he could potentially see them as food? With these thoughts came the visions of everyone he knew, looking at him with fear and disgust.

His body began shaking as he could feel his sister next to him. As Leni tried to comfort him by embracing her younger sibling, unintentionally, Lincoln slapped her hand away. For a moment, the spark in his eyes had returned, and his sisters noticed the quickly shifting emotions he felt upon his older sister attempting to hold him; anger, regret, and fear. All of which in that order. Without so much as taking looking them in the eye, Lincoln shifted himself away from Leni, bringing his knees to his chest and burying his head. For a moment, he felt a twisted sense of relief, solely for the fact that he felt regret in swatting away his sister's hand, but something in the back of his head kept justifying his immediate response. He'd been having these thoughts for a while, and the more he thought on it, the more these thoughts vocal, in a sense.

His sisters were shocked, to say the least. Never had Lincoln responded this way, under any circumstance. And while they assumed he'd feel some level of anger towards them for kicking him out; they never thought he would outright refuse to be near them, especially Leni. After recovering from the initial shock, Leni, disheartened over her brother's rejection of her embrace, tilted her head. She didn't move away, nor did she intend to leave things as they were. If the young teen could be credited for anything, besides her interest in fashion, it was her dedication to her family. Rather than get up and walk away, she shifted just a bit closer, pressing her head against his. "I'm sorry, Linky. I'm so sorry." She apologized in between small sobs. Again, she tried to embrace him, slowly wrapping her arms around him. "We never should've doubted you. Please. Please, forgive us."

"No." In that instance, there was silence from both Lincoln, and his siblings. Leni seemingly recoiled from that one word. Her eyes had widened, never in her life did she think she'd ever hear them coming from her brother, especially in this circumstance. Her tears still ran down her cheeks, but with the cold way in which he refused to forgive his sisters, it made it all the more hard for her not to sob uncontrollably. Her siblings were no different, each of them were equally shocked to hear Lincoln reject any form of peace between he and his sisters, particularly because, in that one moment, they could've sworn they heard an echo in his voice. But, when Lincoln finally glanced up, albeit mildly, he had an almost similarly shocked expression.

Because, he too was shocked to have said that. Even so, as the initial shock passed, he realized almost immediately; he felt no remorse, and he cared very little that his sister was crying. Fearing this to be an affect to becoming a ghoul, the ashen-haired boy worried over what he would eventually come to see his family as. Although, that worry was as well fading. "Not right now." He muttered; clear enough for his siblings to have heard him. He kept his voice devoid of any emotion. At the moment, he didn't want tension between himself and his sisters, but he knew well that he wasn't ready to forgive them for kicking them out of the house. Not at the moment at least.

 **Meanwhile**

Elsewhere, sitting atop a rooftop within the older district of Royal Woods, a lone hooded figure sat quietly. Her glowing violet irises wandered around, from the empty rooftop, to the bustling city in the distance. As the cool night air allowed her hair to dancing aimlessly, her nose twitched, giving her the indication of approaching company. She turned around fully, greeting her barely arriving partner. He took a seat beside her and sighed heavily.

"How was it?" She asked with mild curiosity in her tone.

"Better than I thought, he didn't get hysterical, and…" He paused, if only for a moment. His female partner glanced his way, and was surprised to see a faint grin on his lips. "He looked like he was actually relieved. You know? To have some answers, and to know there are others like him. But, he did get a bit worked up when I asked him if he remembered what happened to him."

Without warning, the door to the roof had opened, and the two shot their attention towards the newcomer. They were able to relax upon the sight of a black-haired girl walking out onto the roof. She had black pajamas, light pale skin, one of her eyes covered by her long hair, and in her arms, a stuffed rabbit, adorned with stitches. She walked over to the two ghouls, calmly, and with a stoic expression. "Welcome back, Taurus." She spoke with a monotone, of course, however neutral her voice was, there was an unmistakable trace of a smile on her face. The two teens greeted her; Taurus by kneeling to her level and patting her head gently.

"Hey, sugar. When's Sam gonna stop painting your hair? You look like a human." His remark earned him a clean smack to the back of his head, followed by fierce glare from his partner.

"Don't use my name in public, Taurus." She hissed between gritted teeth.

"Geez, relax, Virgo, simple slip of the tongue." He responded whilst rubbing the spot she had struck. "Thought rockers were supposed to be laid back."

"Oh sure, I'm pretty laid back after getting an earful from the Primordial while you get all chummy with the new ghoul." She remarked, a little less than pleased with having to be reminded of the 'conversation she had with their leader.

"New ghoul?" Their argument was quickly put aside as they now focused their attention on the small ghoul before them. Her expression and tone had yet to change, though, if the sudden gleam in her eye was anything to go by; the rumors circulating around their group had just been proven true. A new ghoul had been born, though the question remained; which faction would he side with?

Again, the door to the roof opened, another hooded ghoul poked their head out, their attention focused on Taurus. "The Primordial wishes to speak with you, Taurus." It spoke in a raspy voice just before descending back into the dark building.

Taurus gave a quick glance to the young ghoul in front of him, and then turned to his partner. "I need a favor." Virgo's expression soured, she was about to tell him off just before he placed a finger to her lips. "Hear me out, woman. Knowing the Primordial, I probably won't be able to visit the boy tomorrow. We both know what'll happen when the other factions hear about what's been going on in our city. I need you to check up on him tomorrow. You might not know the boy, but you might be familiar with his sister; Luna Loud." As soon as that name was mentioned, Virgo's eyes widened, a weary smile crept on her lips as she recalled knowing that particular sibling.

"Yea. I do…" The gears had clicked, she took the moment to recall the Loud sibling, but she had only just realized what it played to in the whole. "…And…her brother is the one who…?"

"Yes. Can I count on you to keep him safe, at least until the Primordial decides how to handle the stituation?"

For a minute, they were silent, that was, until Virgo nodded. With a reassured smile on his face, Taurus descended into the building to meet with their leader, leaving his partner and the young ghoul alone. As she watched her partner leave, Virgo was lost in her own train of thought. "Familiar with his sister? Damn right I know her…damn…just…damn it, Luna. I'm sorry…"

 **And that concludes the second chapter, with a few questions answered, and plenty more still up in the air, there's a whole much more to look forward to. Stay tuned for the next update, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Ciao!**


	3. A Meeting

The following day after the ashen-haired Loud was discovered, aside from the swarm of reporters, both around the hospital and the Loud residence, Lincoln was able to return home with his family. Though, there were no words exchanged between himself and his family since the night prior, the family treaded lightly. Of course, there was some small talk here and there, but Lincoln refused to answer verbally, rather, he either shrugged or hummed a response. For the life of them, his family couldn't understand why he was being so silent, a few theorized that it possibly had something to do with his time in the forest. Be that as it may, they were cautious when speaking to him, even Luan kept her jokes to a bare minimum. Even so, upon arriving home, and navigating past the press stationed outside their home, the Louds managed to get inside their home. Although, they had to shut every blind to keep prying eyes out. Upon turning on the tv, it was made vaguely clear what occurred to the other boy, and Lincoln's image showed up almost every hour on the local channels. The case was still being investigated, with police showing up to try and question him further, but with similar results from the night before, there wasn't much to go on.

Off to the side, or rather, across the street were two ghouls shifting uncomfortably. They had seen the impressive amount of attention the Loud residence was getting, how could they not? But, they were there to visit the ashen-haired boy, and the lingering presence of the police made going in all the more risky. Of course, their advantage came in the form of onlookers and nosy neighbors. Being able to blend in with the crowd allowed them to wait out however long the cops would take in their questioning. After which, once they had cleared out, the two walked past the still crowded streets and walked up to the front door. The oldest of the two, noticed the eyes on her and her company. Being in the spotlight wasn't exactly in her comfort zone, especially with the high tensions at the moment. She cursed under her breath and knocked on the front door. She heard a pair of footsteps stomp towards the door, swinging open was the patriarch with bags under his eyes and a heated glare. It almost quickly dissipated when he quickly took note that those standing before him were not reporters, but rather, a girl around his son's age, and almost eerily reminded him of his gothic daughter. And the other was a blond teen around Luna and Leni's age, or so he assumed.

"Can I help you girls?" He asked, his voice indicated how exhausted he was from the unwanted attention from the media.

Virgo quickly took hold of the situation. "Umm, sorry to bother you, Mrs. Loud, my cousin..." she gestured to her small companion. "Is a friend of your son. She's been worried about Lincoln, and she was hoping she could come and see how he's doing...myself included, sir."

"Well, that's awful sweet, but I'm afraid he's not exactly in a mood to receive any one. I'm sorry girls, but he..." Lynn Sr. explained, just before being cut off by Virgo.

"I understand, but all the same, we'd just like to see him. Please. We won't take too much time, and if we're a bother, we'll leave." While she and her fellow Ghoul could've easily snuck in, they didn't exactly want to leave anything to chance. An example being, they get caught and things get hairy. Still, she could easily deal with the situation, but the last thing the ghouls needed was more questions being thrown their way. Taking a moment to think it over, the patriarch of the house sighed eventually sighed and stood aside, allowing the two girls entry. When they did, they saw noticed the entire family in the living room. The majority of them were in their own little worlds, whilst a few took notice and immediately snapped out of their trance.

"Sam?" Luna, while confused as to why her band mate was in her home, blushed at seeing her.

"Haiku?" Lucy was, for the most part, genuinely surprised to see her friend in her home, more so that she knew where it was.

"Hey Luna, how've you been...actually, don't answer that. I can't imagine what you're going through right now." The blonde rocker scratched the back of her head, though, she pinched the bridge of her nose when she had asked her band mate how she'd been. Given that her brother was missing and only recently just been found, it was pretty obvious she wasn't in the best of moods at the moment.

"Haiku, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked, still curious as to how her fellow poet had found her home. But, she quickly deduced that it was probably due to the attention their family was getting at the moment.

"My cousin and I heard your brother was found, we were hoping we could see him...I've been...worried...about Lincoln." This came with a few surprised expressions, especially from Sam. She couldn't tell if the little poet was truly worried for the ashen-haired boy, or if she was keeping up with their ruse. As for the Loud family, those who knew the two girls were surprised to learn that they were related. Initially, they were a bit skeptical. Of course, if need be, they had a few tricks up their sleeves to pull. But, it appeared as if the parents bought it; they looked to Haiku with sympathetic and even warm smiles.

"Aww, sweetie, Lincoln's fine, otherwise the doctor wouldn't have let him out early." Rita Loud commented, earning a frown from her husband.

"I still think that doctor let him out too early. Moron." He muttered that last bit as bitterly as he could, recalling how passive the doctor was towards Lincoln's situation. Although, the ghouls heard perfectly.

Putting aside her shared sentiment of the early release, Rita returned her attention to the young girl. "But I'm afraid Lincoln isn't talking to us...or anyone right now." Her words seemed to ripple in effect as the whole family was reminded of the silent treatment they were treated to.

"I see." Sam muttered, wondering if Taurus was responsible for Lincoln's refusal to speak to anyone. Or, perhaps the weight of reality had finally sunk in; the reality that he was no longer human and he was dealing with it his own way. Whatever the case, she and her companion needed to check up on the boy. "All the same, my cousin and I, we've been worried these past few days, and if it's all right with you, would you mind if we see him? We wont bother him, and if it looks like we are, we'll leave." She persisted, not pushing too hard, but enough so that the family knew they were genuinely worried about him.

Rita as well took the time to think it over, thinking maybe it would be best for a friend to speak to her son, though, she had hoped it would be Clyde who would be the one to come over. Rita glanced back to the girl. "You're welcomed to try, sweetheart. But please, if he says anything, let us know." With a nod as her response, the eldest Loud, Lori, showed them the way. A few of the siblings trailing behind, curious whether these two would have any luck with their silent brother. As they ascended upstairs, the two ghouls took notice of the variety of family portraits. Sam smiled, faintly, the joy captured in these photographs were that of a happy family, despite its side. Though, that thought quickly dissipated when she remembered that this family's son had died in the forest, returning to life as something that the world would so gladly exterminate, to the last of his kind. As they neared what she assumed was the boy's room, she steeled herself. Lori knocked a couple of times, calling her brother's name once.

"Lincoln?" No response. "You have visitors." Again, no response.

Feeling that this was lead to them being excused from the house, Sam walked up to the door. "May I?" She whispered to the Lori, the eldest Loud, while confused, moved aside and allowed the teen rocker to try.

She knocked in a familiar rhythmic tune, one she knew the ashen-haired boy would remember. At least she hoped he did. But, the knock alone wouldn't grant her access, instead, she took another route. With the hope that Taurus had explained to Lincoln of his ability, she leaned over the door and spoke in a somewhat sly tone. "So, am I gonna stand here all day, or are you gonna let me in, sugar?" The small gathering of siblings were indeed confused as to why this girl refereed to their brother as 'sugar'. Before any had the chance to question it, they heard the door unlock, opening slightly with their brother poking his head out. The first thing he noticed was Sam and Haiku, the poet said nothin, but the blonde rocker waved. "Hey, remember me?" Lincoln's nose twitched, his widened upon recognizing the scent. He picked up Taurus's scent on her, and some5ing else, something that made him feel safe; something familiar. He'd noticed something interesting recently; a distinct scent from himself, and those around him. Apart from their usual scents, Lincoln also picked up a distinct smell common with humans, and one distinct that he picked up on himself and Taurus. Humans and Ghouls having their own unique scents. Which, if he took his own logic into account; meant she too was a Ghoul. Or, he hoped she was. His eyes drifted to the floor, he nodded. "Awesome...you gonna let us in?" Putting aside the fact that they were probably fellow ghouls, the boy was wide-eyed with the request to allow the two girls entry. Though, not wanting to be alone, he moved aside and gestured them to come in. As they did, the sisters were shocked, seeing their brother allow these two girls to enter while he ignored and shut them off. It appeared as if Lori was going to go in with them, to keep an eye on them. But before she could even set a foot inside her brother's room, the door shut in her face. Her brother seemingly glaring daggers at her before doing so. She had never felt this much animosity from her little sibling, but it didn't mean she wasn't pissed with him slamming the door in her face. But, instead of calling him out on it, she brushed her annoyance aside and instead hoped whoever these two were would help.

After locking the door, Lincoln turned and was greeted to the two girls sitting comfortably on his bed. It appeared that Sam was going to say something, though she was quickly shushed by the ashen-haired boy as he checked every nook and cranny of his room, which was almost empty save for the bed and dressing drawer. His attention then went to the vent above. He gestured to it, his hands motioned in a manner that suggested they could have eavesdroppers. Which, was not entirely surprising to the poet, she knew how adventurous and coincidental Lucy was when it came to having info she normally shouldn't. Haiku nodded, but, she gestured to her nose, reminding the boy of his enhanced senses, meaning they'd easily detect Lucy if she were to sneak into the vents.

Regardless, Lincoln hopped on his bed, startling the two ghouls. She climbed up to the vent and slid some metal sheet through, covering the holes and seemingly sealing off entry and exit through. He sighed and hoped down.

"Can't be too careful, not in this house." He muttered. Upon turning to the two ghouls, his expression had softened, he smiled, which threw them off. They expected him to be wary, and yet, his attitude had done a complete turn now that they were alone. Of course, for the next few minutes they were quiet, neither had much to say, if anything. Rather, Sam twiddled with her thumbs while Haiku took notice of the absence of items most boy's Lincoln's age would have in his room. Particularly; posters, maybe a few actions figures, comics, games. All of that was absent.

"So..." Sam started, catching their attention. "What's with the silent treatment towards your family?" She went right to the point, not exactly in the mood to be subtle.

Lincoln's smile disappeared almost immediately, he was unsure over whether to tell these two of his reason for cold attitude towards his family. Granted, not all of it came from Taurus's advice. And besides, he was sure if he could trust these two yet. They were close, maybe, to his sisters, and possibly with Taurus, but not with Lincoln.

Then again, there weren't many he would consider 'close' anymore. Not with his secret. With a cautious approach, he told them everything that occurred following up to being turned into a Ghoul. Every detail, from the moment he supported the idea that he was bad luck, to the point where his family locked him out of his home.

The reactions from the two ghouls were different. While Haiku kept her normal neutral expression throughout the conversation, she did show concern and a faint hint of sympathy when Lincoln went into full detail of his encounter with the Ghoul in the forest. The poet herself had a similar encounter, but the Ghoul she faced went straight for the kill, it didn't toy with her to that degree. That story, however, would be for another day. For now, she kept quiet, allowing Lincoln to speak his mind. Sam was another story. The teen rocker seemed like she was on the verge of breaking through the boy's door and snapping at the family for their actions. Though, that was the least of what Taurus would do if he heard this. In that moment, an image flashed in Sam's mind as she felt a massive chill crawl up her spine. Yea, perhaps, for now, it would be best if this little bit of information didn't reach Taurus's ears.

Regardless, the teen rocker was seething with anger; she had dealt with situations where ghouls being out-casted from their families because of what they were, but for a boy to be kicked from his own home on superstition alone, her body shook. She was not sure how to deal with this, but her immediate thought was to give his family a piece of her mind, and take him with her. But, neither of those two had a favorable outcome, mostly in due part to them being impulses. Something she learned quickly as a Ghoul; never act on an impulse, especially one fueled by anger. Once Lincoln finished, ending on a quick summary of what occurred from waking up in the hospital till now, the room remained silent. None of the ghouls spoke, what could they say? Lincoln had said what he needed, and the two female ghouls didn't know how to proceed.

"Hey..." Both female ghouls nearly jumper to their feet, their eyes focused on Lincoln who was still standing in front of them. "I'm curious...yesterday...Taurus can shapeshift...I was wondering; what are your abilities? And, how do I discover mine?" He asked meekly. "Oh, and don't worry, a while back I asked my sister to sound proof my room, no one can listen in on us." He assured, and for a moment, the two on the bed glanced to one another, then back to the ashen-haired boy. It seems like they didn't need to change the subject, although, Sam was visibly annoyed, not at Lincoln, but at the fact that Taurus didn't properly explain the essential facts of a Ghoul and their abilities.

On this topic, however, Sam was prideful for having mastered her ability at her age. She smiled, raised her fingers up and snapped them. Her body, as if made of glass, cracked and shattered, though, it appeared to be merely a shell. Th Ghoul version of Sam wasn't any different from her human self, but like Taurus described; her color schemes were purely monochrome. The only vibrant color was her iris'; baby blue. It didn't make her appearance he seem any less frightening, but seeing her effortlessly use her powers left the ashen-haired boy in awe. "Taurus's powers are...average. I'm not gonna lie, his shapeshifting does come in handy, but I've got leverage of my own." She snapped her fingers again, this time, after her figure cracked and shattered, with a momentary bright blinding light accompanying, Lincoln stood before two Sam's. Both flashing him a sly smirk. The two snapped their fingers, repeating the process, stood Sam on her own the final time. "My ability might only be illusionary, but you'd be surprised how well I pull them off."

"Virgo, you're showing off." Haiku pointed out, all the while gesturing Lincoln to sit with her on the empty spot on the bed. As he did so, Sam coughed into her fist whilst taking a moment to compose herself.

"Sorry about that, It's been a while since I've been out on a job. I rarely get to use my powers since the Primordial put us in school." She chuckled, awkwardly. Among other things, she was indeed a bit boastful, was not above humility.

"Virgo? I thought your name was Sam." Lincoln was confused as to why his sister's crush was being referred to by a second name. The look on Sam's face was one of irritation, but, not towards Lincoln, but rather, towards the Ghoul that was supposed to have filled him in on the world of the ghouls. The blonde gestured the boy to scoot over, allowing her space to side beside him. Although, in doing so, he was no pressed against Haiku, who was currently keeping her head turned away from him. As she took a seat beside him, Lincoln realized he was now pressed between the two ghouls. Although, Sam didn't seem to mind as she went into detail overwatch her second name.

"Sam was the name I had when I was still human. Virgo was the name I was given when I joined Constellation." She glanced to Lincoln, who was still confused. "That I know of, there are only two Ghoul factions; Fantasia, and Constellation. Haiku, Taurus, and me; we're members of Constellation. In fact, our group was the first faction the ghouls formed." She commented with a hint of pride in her tone. "You want a detailed history...you'd need to ask the Primordial...and if Taurus hasn't made it clear; the Primordial is...I guess you can say, he's the first. Honestly, I've been with Constellation for a while, but I don't get the whole hierarchy thing."

"I have a lot of questions." Lincoln mumbled, still taking in the information presented to him.

"I'm sure you do, sweetie." Sam wrapped her arms around the ashen-haired boy. Though, from the way she held him, his head was being pressed against her chest. She began caressing his head, playing with small locks of his hair, causing a faint blush to appear on his cheeks. "And if we could we'd tell you more, we would. Well...I would." If only for a split second, Lincoln felt a threatening aura coming from the poet.

"Did Taurus give you anything yesterday?" Haiku asked, gaining the immediate attention of the two.

A second passed before Lincoln remembered the slip of paper he was given. He reached into his pocket and retrieved the item. Handing it to the poet, she took the slip and read its contents. On the slip were a pair of words; Ritter and Queenie. Her expression shifted, frowning ever so lightly. "Do you know what these mean?" She asked Lincoln, to which the boy nodded.

"Yea, my sister's school is on Queenie, my mom passes Ritter when she drops them off." He responded, easing the poet's frown, though, not entirely. It might've been my sheer luck that he knew these streets, but given that he did pay attention to his surroundings, it meant that he would know about a certain building on the one particular street. "Umm..." Lincoln started, his right palm pressed against his head. His grip tightened as he remembered the voice that followed when he thought of his siblings. "I...yesterday, I kept hearing...a voice..." Both Sam and Haiku's eyes widened, they glanced towards one another, then back to the ashen-haired boy. "I thought I was hearing things...but, I kept hearing it whenever I thought of my sisters."

Unsure of how to proceed, Haiku remained silent; Sam decided to test the waters. She hadn't heard of a Ghoul hearing voices after waking up. This was new, and wether it was a result of his transformation or something he had prior. "This voice; what did it sound like?"

"Like...when it spoke, an echo followed...and, it almost sounded like a girl." Lincoln responded, his mind playing the sounds he had heard.

"And what did this voice say?" The teen asked.

"Well, when I thought of my sisters, it something different. Like, for Lynn I heard; abuser. And for Lucy; ungrateful." He recounted.

Haiku placed a finger to her chin. "Hmm. One word for each."

Sam arose from her seat, gaining the attention of the other two. She paced back and forth, mumbling so softly that the other two couldn't make out what she was saying. "Ok..." Was something the two could make out as Sam directed her attention back to Lincoln. "Let's try something; what word comes to mind when you think of Luna?"

Without needing to think on it, a word echoed in Lincoln's mind, clear as day, and just like the day before.

 _Betrayal_

And like that, the voice came and left, but what struck the boy as odd was how clearly the voice was. It wasn't just a faint whisper, it was louder this time. He glanced towards the two other ghouls, ready to tell them the word that came up, but he was surprised to see them with shocked expressions. The looked to him with widened eyes, and seemingly shifted away. It took for a second for either to move, and it was Sam who moved first. Albeit slowly, her hand rose as she pointed to Lincoln's right eye. "Sweetie..." she muttered, somewhat hesitantly. "Y-your..." she couldn't finish, extremely worried over their reaction Lincoln sifted through his drawers, searching for a spare mirror he kept in his room. Once grabbing hold of the object, he held it up and gazed at his reflection. What he saw made him drop his mirror and back away almost quickly before tripping unto the bed. It was only for a mere second, but what he saw in his reflection was anything but comforting; his right eye's sclera had become a deep ebony shade. His pupil had shifted as well, it had become lightish amber. But, within in instant, it had returned to normal.

"Y-your voice…it changed." Lincoln heard Sam continue, and his heart sank. He turned to her and Haiku, noticing that they were both genuinely shocked, neither exactly sure what they just witnessed, but there was only a momentary lapse of fear. Soon after, they were curious as to what just occurred with the new ghoul. Sam, unwilling to allow any chances, chose to act now. Of course, knowing full well she'd be reprimanded for this; whatever just happened, the information needed to reach the ears of the Primordial. Protocols be damned.

Meanwhile, outside Lincoln's room, Luna paced back and forth, her sisters gathered around, sitting around the entrance to their brother's room. Thanks to Lisa, his room had been soundproofed, so they couldn't listen in. And due to a little trick he picked up, the vents too were sealed off, meaning they had no way of hearing in on whatever was being said or done in his room. Adding to it, Lisa and Luan's cameras were easily discovered and disposed of, and while the two were reprimanded, the fact that they knew nothing of what was happening kept them on edge. At first, Lori wanted to see if whoever these newcomers were would be able to snap Lincoln out of his silent treatment. But, it had been well over an hour and still no word on what was going on. Leni, for what appeared to be the first time in her life, sat patiently, hoping that when her brother walked out, he would at least speak to them. She could understand him being mad, and she'd made plans to make it up to him, particularly giving him more attention and treating him with a bit more respect, similarly to how he treats her. But, like her sister, she had begun to worry if the two inside were making any sort of progress.

As the rocker's pacing began increasing, the lock to their brother's door unlocked, causing each to jump up and impatiently wait for the door to open. As it did, they noticed Lincoln walking out with his head lowered facing the ground. Haiku was beside him, her face remained its neutral expression, but Sam's had shifted almost entirely. She glared daggers at the siblings, though, she was relatively calm. That was, until she made a sudden proclamation that not only caught the sisters off guard, but would further create a rift between Lincoln and his sisters.

"He told us everything…" Sam muttered; causing the Loud sisters to, firstly, feel extreme guilt and anger at having non-family get through to their brother than them. But soon came the realization of her words; she knew everything. And by the glare she was still sporting, it was clear Lincoln indeed told her everything. "I thought you Louds were better than this…I thought with so many siblings; you of all people would understand the importance of family…I guess I was wrong." She turned her attention to Luna, who almost instantly turned away, unable to look her in the eye. Neither of the siblings could. That was, until she uttered her next set of words. "That being said, I'm not going to sit idly by. I'm taking Lincoln with me."

 **Meanwhile**

Walking within a dimly lit corridor, walls of grey and dripping ceilings, Taurus's footsteps echo in the empty hall. His sight set on a lone door at the end of the corridor. As he grew ever closer to the door, he stiffened himself, wondering why it was he was being called back to this room again, after having visited the night prior. The Primordial, while being meticulous and often showed little emotion, was always overprotective of the ghouls under his command, and with a new ghoul now confirmed, all of Constellation HQ had been bustling; many wanting to see their new brethren. But with this bit of good news came sightings of the other factions. Now only inches away from the door, Taurus stood idly, thinking over what he'd say to the Primordial, many times he had shaken his head and muttered to himself.

"Today would be best, Taurus." Came a voice from the other side of the door. The Ghoul stiffened and bit before sighing and walking in. The room was neatly organized, on the walls were shelves neatly organized with various works of literature. Apocrypha, the name given to the room where the collected knowledge of the ghouls was stored. All within these walls were of written works the ancients had written on the subject; few were collected journals of their brethren and their research on their kind. In the middle of this room Taurus found his leader seated on the ground in front of a low table, the man was around his age, biologically speaking. The Ghoul wore what black robe, similar to a priest's garment, though; the color scheme was shaded in monochrome. His short milky white hair was combed back; he adorned a pair of glasses as his eyes shifted through the contents of a large book on the table before him.

As he grew closer, Taurus got down on one knee, bowing before his people's leader. "Primordial, I've come as requested." He kept his voice low, more a sign of respect than anything else.

"Spare me the formalities." The Primordial responded, keeping his eyes focused still on the book.

"Of course, sir. What is it you need of me?" Taurus asked, raising his head, but keeping himself still on one knee. If there was anything his fellow ghouls could compliment him on; it was his loyalty to the Primordial, mostly due in part to their shared history.

Passing only a second a silence, the Primordial closed his book, slowly, and glanced up to his fellow Ghoul. His scleras, like any other ghoul, were black. But, his left iris was a golden amber color, and his right was an unnerving dead white color. "Must I need something in order to speak with an old friend?" He asked, a meek smile crept on his face as he rose up and walked nearby to a small table. "Coffee? Tea?"

"Coffee." Taurus responded, relaxing himself and shifting to sit more comfortably by the table. A few minutes of silence passed as his friend returned with coffee in hand. "Kind of funny, isn't it?"

"Hmm?"

"Our bodies reject food, but drinks seem to have a free pass." Taurus clarified.

"Yes, well, heated drinks mostly. And before you ask; no, our researches haven't discovered why that little loop hole exists." The Primordial gave a small chuckle at the end of his sentence, taking a seat and sipping his tea as his friend drank the bitter coffee as it was. "How goes the hunt for Europa?"

"We lost her scent for a while, but we found her on the outskirts of the forest. She was hunting again, however, this time in the day light. Even after becoming feral, she's still alarmingly daring." Taurus commented, taking another sip of his drink. "She still roams free, but we've driven her from Royal Woods without raising any alarms."

"Hmm, very good. And how is the boy?" He asked, seemingly out of the blue, but it was expected.

"Strong, he shows great promise as a Ghoul." Taurus went on, only to be silenced by a mild glare from his leader.

"I didn't ask of his potential, I asked how he is doing." The Primordial clarified, taking another sip of his tea.

At this, Taurus was able to sigh heavily as a faint smile emerged on his face. "He's not what I expected. I thought he would've rejected the idea, snap at me, and overall freak out. But not him, he...he looked more relived, like a puppy having found a family to call his own. Which is surprising considering he has ten siblings."

At this, his leader broke his usual calm demeanor, spitting into his cup and taking a moment to take in what his friend just said. "Contraceptives must be nonexistent in that household." He muttered. "But..." he wiped away any residue of coffee and frowned, faintly. "While I am glad the boy is taking this well, I can't help but feel that he might not be all too comfortable with having switched species all so suddenly."

"I can bring him in, teach him our ways and have him live amongst his fellow ghouls. If you would just give the order." Taurus proposed, rather quickly. He had been wanting to bring Lincoln into the fold, the Primordial was well aware of this. Taurus was not rash, but when it came to the wellbeing of his fellow ghouls, the ghoul tended to act the way an older brother would. However, he proposed bringing the boy in by force.

"And what would you do if he refused to join us? Would you bring him here, forcefully? That will not do." The Primordial responded in a harsh tone. "If he is to join Constellation, he must do so on his own accord." Taking another sip from his tea, The Primordial took a quick glance to his friend, noticing the unsettling expressions being expressed by the Ghoul.

"With all due respect, Primordial, I don't like the idea of leaving him with humans, if something happens, if by some chance he is discovered, we might not have enough time to act…he's just a child." Taurus muttered.

"I admire your dedication, Taurus, but I doubt the boy shares the idea of seeing humans as a separate species. If anything, he probably feels that he still has some humanity left in him." Placing his cup down, the Primordial leaned over and looked his friend directly in the eye. "Clinging to something he has already lost, I feel for him. But, he will come around, soon enough. Have faith in our ways." Noticing his friend's wavering expression, the Primordial leaned over and placed a hand on Taurus's shoulder. "Have faith in me, Marco."

 **Well now, it's safe to assume that 'Taurus' identity is no longer a mystery. How does it play into the story as a whole? Well, again, you'll have to wait and see in the next coming chapters. We're hoping you enjoyed this latest chapter and hope you'll stick around for the next to come. Until next time!**


	4. Forgiveness?

All was quiet in the Loud house, which in itself was a rarity. However, given the circumstance, it wasn't so surprising. Of course, at the moment all Louds, save for the single male sibling, were downstairs. Accompanying them were the two visitors, one with an unyielding glare, and the other was as stoic as ever. The only sounds were the exhales of the present parties below. The atmosphere was unsettling to say the least, with Sam's sudden announcement to taking Lincoln with her; all of those present were currently on edge. From the initial backlash the sisters showed, the increasing concern the parents where showing upon learning that their son had told these visitors what occurred. Of course, it went completely south when the teen announced she'd be taking the boy with her. Had the parents not intervened, the situation would've turned violent quickly. The eldest of the Loud siblings, save for the second eldest blonde and rocker, were glaring daggers at the newcomers.

It wasn't until the post decided to speak up that the tension began to heave in balance. "So, as I'm sure you're well aware; Lincoln told us what occurred up until now." She began, earning slightly worried glances from the parents. "From the moment he encouraged the idea that he was bad luck, to the point that he was...removed from the premises."

"Kicked out." Sam muttered, earning an elbow to her ribs.

"But that isn't what's bothering me...well, not entirely." All eyes widened, even her fellow Ghoul. Was the fact that the boy was kicked out truly not bothersome to her? Before the family could ask, she continued. A few flinched when the poet's eyebrows and eyes narrowed. "Before anything, I'd like to know, for how long was he made to sleep outside the home?" The Loud family hesitated, each kept their heads down upon being reminded how they so easily kicked their family out for a stupid superstition.

"Five days." The answer came, surprisingly, from the meek voice of Leni, whom did not raise her head, but rather, answered the question with her head hung low.

"I see." Haiku muttered. "In that case, what I want to know is; why is his room empty?" Upon asking, Sam's glare had ceased, replaced by a moment of ponder, soon after regaining its animosity, though, this time with much vigor. The siblings themselves were tight lipped, as were the parents. It seemed as if none of them wanted to answer this question. "It's not a secret that Lincoln is a fan of comics, and no doubt I expected to see at least one poster or memorabilia of his interests. And yet I found nothing. There was but his bed and an almost empty drawer. So am I to believe he was removed from the house for five days and missing for an entire week, and in that timespan you thought it best to remove his memory from this household?"

"That's not it!" This time, it was Lynn who spoke up, unwilling to stay quiet any longer, especially with the predicated implications.

Noticing Sam prepared to argue back, Haiku quickly responded. "Okay. Then, explain to me what happened to his belongings."

"We don't have to explain anything to you; this isn't any of your business. You're not family." She remarked, earning a growing glare from Sam, but again, before she could respond, Haiku voiced first.

"Well...I suppose you're right about that. We aren't family." She commented, earning what seemed like a betrayed look from her 'cousin', and a smug expression from the jock. "But, can you really say the same?" The room had become silent once more; none of the Loud family could say anything. The jock in particular was without words, she had nothing to say, no response, at least, nothing that she could say without being scolded by her parents. "Piecing together what he's told us, what I've seen upstairs, coupled with what I've noticed myself over time; I don't think you see him as your family."

Parents be damned, she went off on this girl. "Who the fuck do you think you are?" She growled.

The Loud patriarch and matriarch were not at all pleased to hear their child speak in such a way, especially towards a guest. "Lynn!" Her father was prepared to scold her, though; his daughter quickly went into a tangent, ignoring him completely.

"No, what the hell gives her the right to just come in here and judge us?!" The jock yelled out, caring little of the repercussion of her outburst. "She's never even talked to Lincoln before all of this, so what gives her the right to just come in here and act like she knows him?!"

In response, or rather lack thereof, Haiku's expression remained the same, though, she shifted ever so slightly, adjusting herself. Her eyes wandered about the room, as if searching for something. After taking a moment to think of a response, she reverted her eyes back to Lynn. There was no glare or hostility shown, but the jock could feel the animosity. It wasn't too threatening, but it was enough to have her and her siblings feel uneasy. "You're right, I shouldn't care what happens in your family, but from what I've seen..." her eyes narrowed as her pupils changed color, if only ever so slightly. Only a few noticed, even fewer chose to question this. "Somebody has to." And with that, she closed her eyes and arose from her seat. "Well, I believe at this point we really have overstayed our welcome. Sam, we're leaving." As soon as the rocker rose up, Haiku was quick to insert. "Lincoln stays."

"But-" before getting a chance to argue, Haiku was quick to glare her down.

"You've caused enough trouble. Uncle is on his way, you'd best behave yourself once he's here." The way the two of them spoke was almost got hat between siblings, which didn't seem to strange considering their relation. Although, the oddity remained with how the two were addressing one another. As the two stood and were about to walk towards the door, a thought came across the Matriarch's mind.

Remembering why it was the two were allowed in, Rita was quick to interrogate the two before they were to leave her home. "Umm, before you go, has Lincoln said anything to the two of you?" Getting a sense that she wouldn't get a response from the blond rocker, she kept her focus on the younger poet.

For a moment, Haiku stopped, taking a moment to ponder what exactly she'd say. Granted, what was discussed with Lincoln wasn't something she could tell the matriarch in its entirety, but she could say something, anything to ease the woman's worries over her son. The question was; what would she say? Taking only a moment to think on it, the poet turned her sole attention to the Loud matriarch. "Well, he told us..."

Before getting a chance to speak further, Sam spoke up, her anger directed towards the large family. "He was chased into that forest." Though she kept a calm tone, she didn't turn to face them, nor did she intend to contain her malice. "He didn't know who or what chased him in, and when he felt so close to death...when he felt like he had died, all he could think of was his family. Even with all the shit you put him through, he was still worried about you lot. Think on that the next time you decide to kick him out." She muttered that last bit with every ounce of venom she could muster. The weight of her words fell heavily on the family, the very notion that their Lincoln, even with all they've put him through, still cared about them. Even when he felt like he had…and then that sentence settled in; when he felt like he had died. Something in that forest pushed him to the point that he went through such a state, the guilt weighed even heavier on the family. Wasting no time she reached for the door, upon opening it she took a couple steps back. She'd flinched when she saw who was waiting at the door; his arrival came as a momentary surprise for Sam, but not for Haiku. The man was tanned, somewhat muscular, dark brown hair, a mole under his right eye, brown eyes, perhaps at the same height as the Loud parents. The man was dressed in an officer's uniform, his demeanor demanded authority, and yet the feminine features also gave a calm like feeling to those who gazed at him.

"Hello, uncle Marco." Haiku was the first to break the silence, instantly bringing all eyes first to her, then to the man standing at the doorway, who, while not admitted openly, was making a few of the older Loud sisters, as well as the wife mildly blush.

"Sobrina, good to see you again." His accent wasn't too thick to understand, but the tone of his voice was indeed one befitting a Spanish soap opera actor, not particularly for an officer. The man then turned to the blond rocker in front of him. His expression softened, if only for a moment. "Sam." He greeted, to which the two ghouls were now waiting to see if she'd play along with their charade.

Sam turned her gaze away, lowering her head ever so whilst hooking her left hand to her right arm. "Hey dad." She muttered nervously, wondering why it was she was supposed to play the part as this Ghoul's kid. Granted, she and Haiku used the whole cousin routine, but she wasn't exactly too fond of Taurus. For a few this was actually quite a surprise, particularly for Luna, who had never seen Sam's parents before despite the many times the two hung out. And now, seeing in what profession the blond rocker's father worked in, it made the situation all the more worrying if she told him anything. As for the rest of the siblings, while never really knowing Sam all that well, were still surprised to see who her father was. If any openly admitted, he was not what they were expecting.

There was an uncomfortable silence following Taurus' reveal and arrival, what broke the tension was the sound of light footsteps coming down the stairs. All eyes turned to the ashen haired boy slowly descending down. He stopped only when midway down; his eyes were focused solely on the newcomer. His nose twitched, ever so. Lincoln knew who this was, but as to what to say, he was at a loss, what he wanted to speak about with Taurus was something his family couldn't hear.

Instead, it was Taurus who took the lead. "Hey there. You must be Lincoln." he approached the ashen-haired boy; he extended his arm for a formal greeting. Lincoln accepted, albeit hesitantly. "I'm relieved to see you up and about. How are you feeling, son?"

The white-haired Loud's eyes drifted away from Taurus'. "Better."

The officer's eyes widened, fairly shortly, before his expression softened. "Well, good to hear. If I may say, I'm amazed you survived for so long on your own out there. But I have to ask; what enticed you to go into the forest so late at night?" The temperature in the room seemingly rose at an exponential rate as the Loud family was waiting to see what their ashen-haired kin would say. The sisters began fearing that their brother would be taken away if he told of what happened, as would their parents. The idea of losing their only brother began weighing on the siblings, alongside the fact that if this were to go public they'd be torn apart by social services, with their parents possibly serving time due to criminal charges.

For the two ghouls, their reactions to this differed; on the one hand, Sam was nervous as to how Taurus would react, given his temper around humans. With other ghouls, the man was calm, hell, even understanding to no fault. But, when it came to humans, he wasn't exactly the patient kind of person. Haiku was planning out how to play this out, at the moment Sam had killed their chances of being able to return to the Loud house too see the ashen-haired boy, limiting their interactions with him to school or the occasional hangouts. Still, if acted on accordingly, she thought of salvaging her own access into the house, allowing her to ease Lincoln into the realm of ghouls without him being pressured or taken by a blond rocker.

Lincoln thought on it for a moment before answering. "I snuck out." he answered, genuinely surprising Sam. Though, Taurus' expression furrowed slightly.

"You snuck out?" He asked, "Whatever for?"

"I was mad at my sister…" Breaths hitched as Lincoln answered the man's question. "…for something petty. I can't even remember what it was about." Taurus stared at the boy with a puzzled look, He knew the boy was lying, but he couldn't understand why he was protecting his family. Surely, the whole ordeal he went through would've been enough to have him feel out of place in this human household. And yet…

"I see…well, aside from a mountain of questions my peers and I have for you, I'm choosing to instead let you rest for now. But, you and I will have a bit more words to exchange in the future, alright?" When Lincoln nodded, a faint grin returned to his face as he stood up and walked towards the door, gesturing the other ghouls to follow with. "Alright girls, time to go home." Haiku followed closely behind, Sam on the other hand took her time. Instead, she walked over to Lincoln and leaned over to him.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be there little dude." What followed was a sight that, although surprising, left little impact on the rocker's 'father'. Sam kissed the ashen-haired boy on the cheek, leaving the home soon after without taking a glance at the rest of the Loud family, in particular, avoiding the glance of her fellow rocker. Taurus, after taking one last look at the Loud family, bowed his head ever so, quickly thanked them for watching his girls, and then left. Leaving the family to take in all that just transpired.

Though, as the door closed, and Lincoln could feel their scent grow faint, he retreated back to his room. Or at least tried to, as his sisters were quick to try and talk to him again, only for the boy to completely ignore them. Although, as he was climbing up the stairs, a certain voice stopped him.

"Lincoln!" The one sister he had always believed to be his closest sibling, one he held unwavering trust and admiration for. He turned his head halfway, his eyes landing on Luna, whom was clenching a fist to her chest. "I know what we did was wrong, we should've believed you, and we never should've kicked you out. You have every right to be angry with us, but…we really do love you Link. All of us. I know it's gonna take a while for us earn your trust back, but I think I speak for the family when I say we're willing to do whatever it takes to show you how much you mean to us." Tears had begun to form near the corner of her eyes, as did most of the family. Though, a Lincoln's expression remained the same; stoic. What brought him to react, albeit mildly, was when Luna approached him, seemingly hoping to embrace him.

But, as she took a step towards him, he took a step back. His expression had shifted into a faint glare. His rejection of her affection was clear enough that his feelings towards her and the family was that of, not hostility, but caution.

"I wish I could believe you…" he mumbled loud enough for all to hear. Lincoln then turned and walked back to his room, leaving his siblings and parents to their own devices as he quickly walked to his room. His intention was to lock himself in and ignore the rest of the world for the rest of the day. Of course, that was what he intended. As if reacting to his surroundings, his nose caught the scent of someone he almost never could detect unless she wanted to be noticed. He stopped midway from closing his door, turned to where the scent originated, and came face to face with his gothic sibling.

She appeared visibly surprised that he noticed her, even more so that he was able to pinpoint exactly where she was standing. How Lucy was able to move about was still a mystery to the ashen-haired boy. Although, he had little interest at the moment, considering the fact that he felt a pulsing irritation the longer he looked at her.

"Lucy, I'm really not in the mood right now." He muttered, not bitterly, but with visible irritation. "Leave." He demanded.

His tone came as a surprise to her, she'd seen her brother force people out of his room, but not in the way he was going about. The way he acted almost indicated some form of ill feelings towards her. More along the lines, she felt intimidated by his mild glare, almost eerily similar to the way she felt when Haiku was glaring at her family.

"I-i-I was hoping we could talk…" She mumbled nervously. She'd hope he would allow her to speak with him, if only for a few minutes.

"I won't say it gain Lucy." His threat got through, dejected, she walked out with her head hung low. While having some measure of guilt towards kicking his baby sister out of his room, Lincoln was in no mood to talk to his family. So instead, he lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Not exactly a boy his age would normally do to pass the time. But, to his defense, there really wasn't much else for him to do.

 **-Meanwhile-**

After leaving the Loud house, the three ghouls went about towards their next destination via car, a bored Haiku sitting quietly in the back, whilst an annoyed Taurus drove and a nervous Sam sat beside him in the passenger seat. It didn't take long for the elder ghoul to be informed of what occurred earlier. To say he was infuriated with Sam for being reckless would be overselling it, he understood where her anger came from, but for her to want to take the boy in front of his family, in broad daylight no less.

"You would've done the same." Sam muttered, beating Taurus to whatever scolding he had thought up.

While not surprised, Taurus kept his eyes forward while responding to his comrade. "I know I would've. But see, that there is where the problem lies; neither of us can make that mistake."

"What mistake? Helping out a fellow brother?" Sam countered, her tone rose ever so. She'd challenge him before, on many things, but this was something he wouldn't back down from.

"Drawing attention to ourselves!" Taurus' tone rose, startling the girls. "We can't afford that risk, Sam. Not again."

For a while, the car was silent, neither had a word to say. Sam wasn't too surprised to hear him raise his voice, he'd done it before, it was this moment that she felt guilty for her actions. That being, had she actually taken Lincoln with her, it would've raised more fires then they could put out.

Still, Haiku intervened, so there wasn't a problem thus far. At least, not for the poet, although not entirely ending in a positive note with the Loud sisters, she was better off than where Sam ended up; at the top of their watch list.

Regardless, the blonde rocker quickly retrieved her earphones from her pockets and was about to drown out the world with music. That was, until a voice called to her from the backseat.

"Sam?" The blonde turned her head to Haiku, who wasn't looking at her, but rather gazing outwards. "When are we going to see what color your eyes really are?" Her question, if momentarily, caught the rocker by surprise.

"What brought this up?" she asked.

"Just curious…" Her eyes lazily glanced to Sam. "Yesterday they were violet, today baby blue. I may not have been a ghoul long, but I know you, and your illusions. What is it you don't want us to see?" her question, albeit with mild curiosity, wasn't too demanding or pushy. But rather, to break away from their current topic and ease the tension between the two.

"Still not the time, sweetie." She mumbled, putting on her earphones and losing herself in her own world. Though, before fully doing so, she searched for a specific contact, after finding it, she sent a message she felt he needed. As well as letting him know she had his number, and left him a little gift.

 **-Loud residence-**

As Lincoln continued to stare aimlessly at the ceiling, his eyes slowly drifting, snapping open when he heard a small ding. He turned his head towards what appeared to be a mobile phone on top of his drawer. Funny, he never noticed, nor did he ever remember having a phone to begin with. Was it a gift from his family? Was this one of their ways to try and make amends? He reached out for the device and glanced at the screen.

' _Hey sweetie, left you a little something. A gift, from us. Well, from me mostly. To help you keep in touch, just in case you need someone to talk to. And '_

Not knowing why, Lincoln felt a grin form on his lips. He'd ask how she got her hands on a phone later, right now, it seemed like he had a way to keep in touch with his fellow ghouls. Or, one of them it seems. The only number registered on the device was Sam's. Before getting a chance to respond, another message came in.

' _Before I forget, check the first playlist, Linky, something to keep your mind at ease. It helped me; maybe it'll help you too.'_ He didn't know how to feel about her using the nickname his sisters called him by, but out of curiosity he did as she said and played the only playlist on the small device. The first song began with a soft guitar tune.

 _Under the surface,_

 _You don't know what you'll find_

 _Hmm, until it's your time_

 _No second chances but_

 _all we can do is try_

 _hmm, I made up my mind_

The tone and rhythm was peaceful and soothing. And in a weird way, he could see why Sam sent it to him. Lincoln took a glance around his room; the emptiness reminded him of how expendable he was to his family. He felt an aching feeling in his chest as he held quite possibly the only item that hadn't been thrown away by his family.

 _I can't see you_

 _But I hear your call_

 _Baby, hold on now_

 _We're going home_

 _If we make it or we don't,_

 _We won't be alone_

With a faint smile, Lincoln placed the phone on the drawer and laid back down, the song played in the background as his eyes slowly drifted off to sleep. In his mind he pictured what it would be like to see more like him. The idea of seeing more like him, no longer being an outcast.

He couldn't deny that seeing a whole new world, hidden from the rest of the world around him, it was exciting. But, it also came at a price. A new message dinged as he was lost in thought. He glanced towards the phone. The message read. _'BTW, leave your window open tonight; I'll be stopping by with some food.'_

His smile growing just a bit wider, Lincoln walked over and unlocked his window. Although, as he was settling back on his bed, his nose twitched, his brow furrowed as he recognized the scent to be two of his siblings. He glanced up and noticed the sheet he placed in the vent had been shifted a bit. He stood on his bed and with swift move; he removed the sheet, opened the vent and out fell his two siblings. The two shrieks that followed were that of Lynn and Luan. Lynn had fallen out completely, but was caught by her brother with relative ease. Luan was hanging upside down, her skirt having been caught by the vent. They'd been caught, though; the quickness of it was what startled the two Louds.

"H-hey Linc, fancy seeing you here." Lynn tried to play it off. Though, the ever present mild glare from their brother proved how little her persuasion was working. It wasn't until she noticed where she was currently that a small blush formed on her cheeks, only for it to disappear as her brother placed her down.

"What're you two doing?" He asked, somewhat irritated that the girls had found a way to remove the sheet. This would make keeping his secret all the more difficult.

"Oh, you know, just hanging around." Luan answered, earning no laugh, but neither a pleasant reaction from her siblings. While Lynn groaned, Lincoln got on his bed and helped his sister down, again with relative ease. The two older louds were surprised to see their brother with the amount of strength he was currently displaying. Granted, neither was assuming they were heavy, by any means. But that their brother was so easily carrying them around, without so much as breaking a sweat.

Taking a moment, to look around his room, Lynn was quick to take notice of the phone atop the boy's drawer. She was confused as to why he had a cellular device, though; it was the soothing music playing that made her think of Luna.

After gently placing his sister down, Lincoln walked over to his door and opened it, on the other side was Luna and Leni, both seemingly waiting by the vent, their heads turning to the door with widened eyes. Piecing things together, Lincoln pinched the bridge of his nose for a second before gesturing Lynn and Luan to leave his room. Though, Lynn stood her ground, crossing her arms and glaring at her little brother, almost daring him to try and remove her. To everyone's surprise, Lincoln didn't flinch at her glare, nor did his expression waiver as he walked up to Lynn, reached over and picked her up from the back of her shirt. Again, with little problem other than the jock's flailing arms.

"What're you doing Linc?!" She asked, trying to reach for him only for him to shift around and evade her grasp. As the two had reached the outside of his room, she shouted again after being in view of most of her siblings, who came out to see what was going on. "Put me down!"

"Gladly." He responded, letting her drop with a loud thud. After which he turned to Luan, who jumped a little when his attention fell on her. She laughed sheepishly right before dashing out of Lincoln's room. At this point he was genuinely growing irritated with his siblings and their antics. But, seeing as how now he was able to detect them much quicker, he'd be able to easily avoid them should he need to. As he was closing his door, he was once again stopped by the call by his eldest sister.

"Lincoln." he didn't face Lori, not out of fear or intimidation, but mostly out of not having the strength or patience to deal with his sisters at the moment. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, please." Having never heard that particular word from his sister before, Lincoln was genuinely surprised, but, not so much that he'd look at her though. Realizing he wasn't going to look at her, Lori continued. "Linc, we know we messed up, and you have no idea how hard it was when you went missing. None of us slept, mom and dad were searching everywhere, day and night. We cried…" She admitted as tears had begun growing at the corner of her eyes. "We cried because we thought we'd lost you…" for a moment she had broken down in small sobs, recollecting the things she felt when Lincoln had gone missing. The guilt, the shame, the self-hatred; all of it accumulated and ate away at her. Once she regained her composure, she continued. "And when they called us and said you'd been found, the first thing we did was rush to you. I know we don't show it, but you're important to this family Lincoln. We love you. I love you."

Hoping for a least a response, Lori got it, but not how she wanted. Lincoln turned to her, his expression unchanging, he muttered clearly. "Could've fooled me." Right before attempting to close the door. Only to have a foot wedged right as it was going to close. For this, the ashen-haired boy glanced to the foot's owner, unsurprisingly belonging to Lynn. The jock was glaring at him, nothing too hostile, but clearly having had enough of his attitude. "Do you mind?"

"YES!" she shouted, she was trying to push the door open, to no avail. "What do you want from us?! We said we're sorry."

At this, Lincoln's brow furrowed as a glare begun to form. Lynn had stopped trying to push the door open as a chill ran up her spine. Before, a glare from Lincoln was nothing more than something for her challenge, but now, as she glanced upon his eyes, she took notice of a black smudge growing near the corner of his eyes.

"You think that's enough?" His tone had chills run up everyone's spine. "You think an 'I'm sorry' is going to make everything better?" Lincoln opened his door fully, catching the jock by surprise as she lost her balance for a second, right before being caught by the grip of her little brother. He kept her at a distance, but remained with an iron hold on her jersey. "It's not enough, Lynn, not this time." While she was trying to pull away, Lincoln released his hold on her shirt, causing her to tumble backwards. While Luan and Lucy helped the jock up, their brother spoke up. "When I needed all of you, where were you?" all eyes fell on Lincoln, though, none answered his question. "You were here, in your beds, sleeping peacefully knowing my 'bad luck' couldn't reach you. Well…guess I got the short end of my luck too." Before getting a chance to ask, Lyn quickly added in.

"Oh please, what happened, you scrapped your knee?" she taunted, having remembered the doctor telling her folks of how there were only scratches and bruises found on Lincoln, though, considering his check-up was done by ghouls under guise, he felt maybe there were some things overlooked. Lincoln's hand brushed against his chest, a place he was sure he'd find his little gift given to him by the ghoul that tried to off him. It only took a moment for him to find what he wanted, even less for him to think of what he was going to do next.

Rather than respond, Lincoln instead chose to walk back into his room and shut the door. Ignoring his sisters for the better part of the day whilst listening to music left on his new phone. In the time he had alone, Lincoln looked around, hoping to find something, if anything, that his family didn't remove discard. There was nothing, no comics, few cloths, no action figures, his gaming systems; all of it gone. Why he was still here he didn't know. The ghouls offered him a place amongst them, a place where he could call home. In fact, why didn't he just walk out? He could easily just run off and disappear. And yet, he still felt some tether holding him to this house, to this family. With only the phone as his possession, he messaged the only person he could at the moment.

' _hey'_

…

' _hey, sweetie. You ok?'_

' _yea…no…can we talk?'_

 **And that's the end of that we apologize for the long wait kiddos, it's been a rough start of the year, and with other stories to work on, it's been hard keeping up with the monthly system we originally had in mind. But, nonetheless, here's the next chapter, we hope you all like it, and stay tuned for the next installment. Ciao!**


	5. Reconcile

A week had passed since Lincoln's return to the Loud house, though, in that time, he had kept mostly to himself. Even if he still hadn't returned to school, the lone male sibling spoke to no one. Even to those he considered his closest friends he ignored and kept a distance from. The story spread around the campus was that Lincoln had wandered into the forest and got himself lost for an entire week. How he was able to survive was a mystery to all but a select few, but it gained admiration from most of his peers. Although, it was an odd thing to see; the once happy and cheerful Loud was now reduced to an ever glaring, silent shadow. The Loud siblings were affected the most from this sudden change in their sibling. On more than one occasion after his return, the sisters each attempted to interact with their brother, only for him to reject any form of interaction. The only one who seemed to come close to having a moderate conversation with him was Leni, though, it wasn't too long.

For a while, Lincoln kept himself in total isolation, evading everyone. His family rarely saw him, and whatever food they left for him, he never touched a morsel. Rather, only once did a sister, Leni, notice him sneaking out to God knows where. She said nothing, partially due to wanting to confront Lincoln herself. If she had said something to her family, no doubt they all would've set a trap for him. They'd call it an intervention, but all the same a trap was a trap.

Speaking of which, the second eldest Loud sibling was, for the past week, exhausted. Yes, her brother was home, that bit was reassuring at first, but as time went on, she noticed his behavior. He wasn't the same little brother she knew, he'd changed. He shut the world out, kept only to himself, and when their mother said this phase would pass, it came as quite a shock that indeed it passed, but not for the Loud family. That girl Luna had a crush on, the one who barged into their house and threatened to take her brother away, Leni recalled a few instances where she saw Lincoln speaking to her. What irked her to quite a degree was watching the two laugh. It wasn't the subject matter, but the simple act that a stranger was building a bond with her baby brother, whilst she and her family were seemingly just seen as unwanted roommates.

At the moment, in the dead of night, Leni stirred, again, in her bed. She hated what had become of her family, but more than anything, she hated the fact that she was, as the family equally was, to blame for what happened to Lincoln. She might not have been the smartest of her family, but even she recognized when she'd done something monumentally wrong. Which was more than she could say for her jock sibling, who, now that Lincoln was home, pushed the blame on the ashen haired sibling for lying to the family to begin with.

While Leni could understand where her sister was coming from, she still couldn't find it in her to blame her brother. So, unable to sleep, she rose quietly from her bed as to not wake her sister, and walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. An odd thing, why was it people went for a glass of water if they couldn't sleep? She didn't think too much into it as she quickly drank her beverage and returned upstairs. Though, she didn't return to her room. Instead she chose to stand outside her brother's room again. She couldn't hear anything, Lisa made sure the room upgrades made every room soundproof. And she couldn't ask Luan for a peek inside the room since she had removed her camera as well. But, all the same she stood in front of his door, wanting for the past few days to enter, yet never finding the courage to enter. Perhaps this would be the night, she reached up to knock, as gently as she could, only for the door to suddenly swing open with Lincoln's eyes already fixed on hers. Did he know she was out there? How? She finally saw her brother and he wasn't walking away. But, any attempt she had to speak, her mouth wouldn't move. Rather, she had been so focused on seeing him that she wasn't thinking of what to say. Luckily for her, she didn't have to wait in prolonged silence.

"What do you want, Leni?" He asked in an annoyed tone. A bit hurt he spoke to her with such a tone, the second eldest Loud sucked in her fear and guilt for this instance.

"I...I just wanted to talk." She muttered, thinking her brother wouldn't hear as she twiddled her fingers, thinking of something else to say to him. What she didn't expect was for him to respond.

"Little late for a talk, don't you think?" For a moment, the older Loud was surprised that her brother heard her, even more so that she was finally able to speak to him without him walking away. Seizing the opportunity, she responded.

"Y-Yea, it is...But, like, _when_ can I talk to you?" She rubbed her arm cautiously, treading lightly as to not have Lincoln storm off again. Though, rather than walk away, he stood still, waiting for her to clarify what she meant. "I know we messed up, Lincoln, and I know it'll take a long time for you to forgive us. But, you might never forgive us, but that's...ok..." she strained that bit of admission. "Ever since you came back, it's almost like we're living with a different person. Every day I see less and less of you, and it's getting to the point that I just...I just want my brother back. I want my Linky back." There were small traces of tears building up near the corners of her eyes.

And for once, Lincoln had nothing to say in return. He couldn't say something demeaning or degrading. Well, he could, but to say it to Leni, while she was on verge of tears, was something he couldn't bring himself to do. Solely due to the two having a history is what kept Lincoln from saying anything that would stomp on Leni's sudden expression of her feelings.

"It's not that easy, Leni. Things changed...I changed." Taking a few steps into the hallway, Lincoln closed his door and locked it slipping the key into his pocket. He turned to head towards the stairs, ignoring his tear-filled sister. "I'm going out." At this point, he cared little whether his family knew he was leaving the house at night, it wasn't like his family could understand. The more he thought on it, as he'd done the past week, the more he realized staying here wouldn't do him any good anymore. He wasn't human anymore, it still hadn't sunk in fully, but he wasn't ignoring what he was. From the primal urge to eat raw meat, to the unnatural abilities and heightened instincts he displayed on a daily basis only further proved that fact. And for a short while, he felt a tangent of guilt for putting his family through this, from pushing them further away as the days passed. But, it was all for the best, the world Lincoln was a part of now was one that didn't need his family getting involved with.

Before managing to reach the stairs, a hand reached out and gripped his. And in that instance, he felt it again; warmth. Ever since becoming a Ghoul, he'd lost all sense of the feeling of warmth. His body had grown cold, and he rarely felt the warmth of the sun's heat anymore. And yet, here he felt, even if the smallest amount, from his older sister's touch. He almost recoiled, slapping her hand away would've been preferable than allowing her to remind him of what he no longer felt anymore. And yet, he couldn't find it in himself to scold her, nor could he berate or scowl as he could so easily do with Lynn.

"Where are you going?" Her voice was hushed, seemingly to keep the rest of their family from waking. She showed no scowl, only curiosity as to where he baby brother could be going off to at so late an hour.

"With Sam." Seeing no reason to lie to Leni of all people, though, the reason for his rendezvous with the rocker was to be kept to himself. In all honesty, he'd already planned out what he'd say if anyone asked where he was going, he didn't care if he was caught, hell, he'd find a way to sneak out regardless. As it turned out, like Lucy to a degree, Lincoln had accustomed himself to seemingly finding ways to move about without being detected. Still, by the look on his sister's face, he wasn't too sure telling her who he was meeting with was the best idea.

"You're going with Sam?" Leni's sudden guilt-like expression was replaced by one of a mixture of anger and annoyance. But, he had a contingency for that scenario too. He wasn't the 'man with the plan' for nothing. "Why?" Her tone was more of a demand for answers, as if daring him to say the wrong thing. And of course, not exactly caring what his sister had in mind for him should he say the wrong thing, Lincoln responded with an annoyed tone.

"You care why?" His response was met with a swift twist of his arm, forcing him to face Leni, her hands now gripping the collar of his shirt as she held him close to her.

"I'm your sister Lincoln." She reminded him by means of trying to act as Lori would. Though, it had little to no effect as the ashen haired boy simply grabbed her wrists and proceeded to slowly remove her grip whilst tightening his own hold. Her expressions changed as his fists tightened, her palms losing their grip on his collar. He didn't intend to hurt her, she was still his sister, human or not. But, Lincoln wasn't exactly in the mood to spend his time dealing with a meddling sister. Though, before he could fully remove her grasp on his shirt, she caught hold again, unwilling to let go.

"Let go, Leni." Lincoln whispered, he could've easily removed her hands, but by doing so he'd have to apply more than the usual amount of pressure on her, hurting her in the process. When she shook her head at his demand, he applied oh so little force. She winced at the increased pain, but her grip remained. "Let go." And again, she shook her head. Knowing he'd hurt her worse should he just force her off him, Lincoln sighed and instead released his hold on her. To which the look of relief washed over her worried expression. "You're stubborn." He commented.

But Leni didn't respond, instead, she stayed silent. What could she say? Before, a myriad of things, most of which were her stating they she was his sister, Sam wasn't. Ever since she appeared, Lincoln preferred her company to that of his sisters. And that irritated the blonde ever so. She went along with the rumor over his bad luck, of that she wouldn't deny. But that didn't mean she stopped caring, she still loved her brother, she still cared. She had hoped that by giving him space he'd eventually open up, but every day she saw him with Sam, the less and less he spent around his family. As if he was trying to push them away, to separate himself and actually go through with what Sam had wanted to do from the day he first came home.

A sudden thought had sparked, one that, in this case, made her heart sink with overwhelming fear. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly. He didn't return the embrace, but that didn't matter. He couldn't leave this way, she wouldn't let him leave. She remembered the heart ache her family felt when he disappeared, the guilt and loneliness she felt when her baby brother was gone due in part to her actions, and she wasn't going to let it happen again. She wasn't going to lose her brother a second time.

But, something felt off, she quickly noted. Her brother's skin was cold, unnaturally so. Why? His room shouldn't be freezing, unless he left the window open; the nights did get chilly every so often. But then, that didn't explain why he remained cold, even in her embrace.

For a moment, Lincoln didn't resist, he didn't want to. Even with Sam and Taurus, the little embraces they displayed to him, he felt no warmth in their touch, he knew the sentiment behind their light punches and small hugs were of kinship, but there was always that one missing bit; warmth. He couldn't deny it, he missed feeling warmth, as a Ghoul, he couldn't feel the sun's heat, fire rarely bothered him unless it touched him directly, even his own body couldn't generate warmth. And so, for this one moment, he didn't push his sibling away, but it didn't change how he felt.

In fact, the only reason he got caught was because he caught Leni's scent just outside his door. He'd picked up on her standing by his door for last few days, so out of curiosity he came to see what she wanted. But, it seemed whatever it was she wanted to say was of no big importance after all.

As he tried to pry her hands, he found Leni's grip on him to be equal, if not more forceful than when she grabbed his collar. He could easily push her away, it wouldn't take much, but, even when he knew he could, he didn't.

As much as it pained him to admit, he still had a connection to this family. Whether he liked it or not. In all honesty, he wanted to buy unto the fact that he was no longer a part of this family; it would've made it easier for him when he left for Constellation. After all, he wasn't human, so why should he care if he left? If his 'family' ever found out what he truly was, what he had become, they'd rid their hands of him quicker than with the bad luck incident.

But, as it became apparent, Leni was only furthering his want to stay with them. Even with the many mistreatments, there were still memories he relished in. Memories of him and his family that seemingly negated the negatives. He could keep his Ghoul form a secret, right? Sam and Taurus did, each with their own way of blending into society. Hell, even Haiku, who he assumed was constantly in her Ghoul form, integrated herself.

Seeing as how he wasn't going to leave with his sister awake, Lincoln chose instead to stay for the night. Though, what he didn't expect, nor did he find it in him to reject or push aside was Leni spending the night in his room. Of all things to have happened, how his attempt to sneak out again, ending with his older sister keeping an iron grip on him was an outcome he couldn't have predicted.

All the same, he couldn't deny the company was a moderate welcome. Even with ten sisters, he still felt alone, as if he didn't belong here. In many ways, he didn't want to belong in the Loud house. With the way Sam spoke of Constellation, the members, the feeling of being beside people like you, it all sounded so appealing. And yet, he still felt drawn to his family. Was he still human? Was there a little ounce of humanity left in him, gripping on to last bits of affection he holds for his family?

Regardless, if only for this one night, he didn't force his sibling out. Rather, he couldn't, not without hurting her badly. To which his eyes drifted to her wrists, visible, albeit faint, signs of his grip were still present. He felt guilty, no question about it, while he was still angry with them, he didn't hate them, not to this degree. But, controlling his anger became all the more difficult lately, and he couldn't understand why. And that voice had not been heard since Sam and Haiku's visit.

In any case, it was out of his hands now, as was his phone apparently. In his attempt to notify Sam of his absence that night, he realized he'd placed his phone on the drawer across from his bed. In between him and the device was his older sister, and while he tried to reach for it, mistaking his actions for one of displaying affection, a half asleep Leni smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. Holding him tightly against her, had she not relented her grip after a bit, he would've suffocated. A fate he wasn't keen on meeting, at least not under these circumstances. Luckily for him, it didn't take long for Leni to fall asleep. Another good trait of hers, at least for Lincoln, was how heavy a sleeper she was.

As he attempted to push her off of him, her grip had tightened. He tried again, only for the same result to happen. Though, his third attempt was stopped midway, having felt warm droplets fall on his face. He glanced to the source; his sister was in tears.

"Don't leave..." she mumbled in her sleep. Her grip grew tighter, as if fearing he'd slip away at the slightest leaning of force. Which could've been the case, had the next few words not kept him at bay. "Linky...don't leave me...please..." He couldn't tell if she was awake, or possibly talking in her sleep. Whatever the case, his attempts to break free ceased. Instead, Lincoln resided to where he now stood...or lay, in this case. And seeing as he wasn't going anywhere, he closed his eyes and attempted to drift off as well.

Though, seeing Leni like this left the ashen haired boy with a tangent of guilt, wishing he could comprehend why he was feeling little empathy for his siblings, but alas, he had nothing. Even so, for this once only, he returned Leni's embrace. However, while he could not provide the same warmth she could, she appeared content. In a way.

 **-Next day-**

As the weekend finally came, many chose to spend it sleeping in, as was the common joys of a weekend. However, in the Loud house, as the whole had started to awaken, the halls were silent. The girls had started to line for the bathroom in a silent manner that had been accustomed to since their brother went missing. Even after him being found, the joy in their lives seemingly disappeared along with him. And although he'd been found, nothing was the same anymore. What did seem to be becoming constant was Luna standing outside Lincoln's door. She'd been trying to reach out to him for days, to no avail. He either wouldn't respond, or he'd tell her to go away. However, through her own resolve, she had chosen not to take no for an answer this time. So, she knocked, waiting for a response.

There was a shuffling noise, her nerves seemingly faltering the more she awaited what could've been another dismissal, or perhaps the chance she finally had to patch up with her sibling. Whatever be it the case, she was prepared. And when the doors opened, her strengthened nerves seemingly crumbled all at once as she was greeted by the sight of her older sister, Leni. She yawned, rather loudly, stretching for a bit before greeting her sister. "Morning Luna." She greeted casually, unaware of their widened eyes fixed on her.

"L-l-leni?" The rocker was, rightfully, confused. Why was her older sister in Lincoln's room, did he know she was here? Was he here? Luna tilted her head to peek in, catching a glimpse of a still slumbering ashen-haired boy. Without warning, Luna pulled Leni out of the room and shut the door. The whole of the eldest siblings, gathered around her.

"Why were you in Lincoln's room?" Getting straight to the point was something Lynn tended to stick by, never one for beating around the bush.

"I spent the night with Linky." Then again, Leni was well known for short and simple answers. And this was no exception.

"Wait, he let you sleep in there? With him?" Luan asked, equally surprised at seeing Leni emerge from Lincoln's room. When her sister nodded, an idea sparked in the comedian's head. "Then...does that mean we can talk to Lincoln?" The hopes of the Loud siblings spiked as they believed their brother to finally be opening up to them. However, their hopes almost instantly crashed when they saw Leni's smile fade as she shook her head.

"I don't think so...Linky only talked to me because..." She stopped herself, Knowing full well how violently Lynn and Leni would react to hearing not only was their brother sneaking out at night, but that he was meeting up with the person who had attempted to take him away from them. She wanted to fill her siblings in, but their initial reactions were not exactly subtle. Lynn especially, the jock was nearing the end of her patience with their brother.

"Because?" Said jock asked, her tone of voice indicating a sense of eagerness after hearing that her brother was beginning to open up. The waiting had been shorter than the siblings expected, but to have their sibling back to normal was all they wanted. Though, the manner in which Leni hesitated revealing how she was able to get through to Lincoln kept them on edge. What was it that had Leni with Lincoln's attention?

"Because..." Leni tried to think of an excuse that sounded plausible to her sisters, but at this point, with their unwavering stares fixated on her, she couldn't answer. Luckily for her, she didn't have to.

"Because you caught him attempting to sneak out." The answer came from the brains of the family, Lisa. She emerged from her room with a small tablet in hand while all eyes were now fixed on her, as were the frightened pupils of Leni.

"What do you mean by that?" Lori asked.

Lisa fixed her glasses first before displaying the screen of her tablet to her siblings. What was being played came as quite a shock to many, as it was agreed upon not to do so anymore; a camera fixed just outside Lincoln's door. "While I was not allowed to have surveillance over our brother's domicile, I chose to place one outside his room. My intent was to identify a pattern of the consistency to which he left his room, in an attempt to hopefully predict a chance at confronting him." Her explanation fell on deaf ears, unsurprisingly, as the girl kept their eyes glued to the screen. There was no sound, so the sisters were treated to a recording of Leni standing outside her brother's door late at night, finally confronting him, and ending with the two sharing a bed.

While Leni wasn't considered the smartest of her sisters, she knew all too well how quickly Lynn would jump to conclusions thanks to the lack of audio, not to mention how easily she manipulated the family to follow through with her in her assumptions. And after watching Lincoln seemingly twist Leni's wrist, her expressions shifting from pain and determination, coupled with his unchanging face, it was clear that the sisters were beginning to plot a charge into the boy's room to give him a piece of their mind. More so when Lori instantly grabbed Leni's arm and inspected her wrist, her glare intensifying once she saw glimpses of Lincoln's grip still visible on her wrist.

Lori turned to Lincoln's room, the anger in her eyes was enough to keep the other siblings from interfering with whatever she had planned, which mostly consisted of banging on Lincoln's door, consistently, and with much vigor. Enough so that by the tenth bang, she could've sworn she cracked the wooden frame. At this point, Leni quickly placed herself between her sister's fist and the door; only by a mere few inches did Lori's fist come to a grinding halt. Accompanying Lori's confusion were the surprised expressions of her sisters for standing up to the eldest Loud.

"No more." She muttered, loud enough to be heard, but judging by the increasingly confused expressions her sisters expressed, Leni continued. "No more fighting. I don't wanna lose Linky again."

"Look at what he did to your arm, Leni!" Lynn shouted, her patience having finally broken at watching her older sister be treated in such a way, by a sibling no less. "Ever since he came back all he's done is sulk and act like some spoiled brat who didn't get what he wants. He ignores us, acts like we're beneath him, and he pushes us away every time we even try to talk to him. He should know better than to do that to _his_ family!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT!" Leni countered, her own anger had bubbled to the surface, startling her sisters. Though, unlike most instances where the Loud girls would backtrack from raising their voices towards either Lynn or Lori; Leni refused to back down. "You have no right...to talk about family." She whimpered, the actions they showed at this moment would only push Lincoln away. No doubt, he'd tell Sam, and she'd use this as a reason for him to leave. Leni couldn't let him leave, she wouldn't. Her heart wouldn't be able to take seeing her brother out of her life again.

The implication was not lost on anyone, they all knew what Leni meant by that. Hell, on more than one occasion the sisters kept reminding Lynn of her role in their brother's disappearance. To which her reply was always 'you didn't have to play along', which was true in its own right.

The ever growing glare from Lynn wasn't what unnerved Leni, it was the fact that the jock was more than willing to physically persuade people to change their views on her, particularly those who damaged her pride. Even her own family fell into the list of people she'd be willing to fight just to prove a point. She knew Lynn wouldn't take her implication lightly, Leni knew a fist was coming her way. But, what she didn't expect, what she least saw coming, was Lynn seemingly holding herself back. After a moment of waiting, nothing came, only an unending deathly glare from the jock. Seeing her holding herself back was impressive, given Lynn's reputation one would think self-control was lost on her. Be that as it may, Leni continued with her banter, knowing full well at some point Lynn would probably reach her breaking point and strike, but, at this point, someone needed to put her in her place.

"We all played along, but you were the one who kept it going after he admitted to lying...you're supposed to be his sister...and yet, you were nothing more than a bully…" This accusation was not something the jock was going to let slide, she opened her mouth to protest, only for Leni to beat her to the punch. "SHUT. IT." She held a finger to her sister, her glare matched only by Lynn's. "I'm not going to stand aside anymore, I won't let you hurt him. I won't let you push my Linky away." Leni held nothing back in her anger. The thought of Lynn letting out frustration on her was something she was prepared to endure, if only to keep Lynn from laying a finger on Lincoln.

The hall had grown uncomfortably quiet. The jock seemingly unable to respond to her sister's words. Or rather, she had quite a few things to say, and a few punches to dish out as an added bonus to her damaged ego. And so it seemed, that her ego was indeed damaged, to the point that Lynn raised a fist and, doing what she seemingly only knew what to do, without hesitation, threw all she had at her sister.

And when her fist struck, the only sound that could be herd was the horrified gasps of the Loud sisters. A ringing pain in her hand caused Lynn to caress her reddened knuckles, they appeared as if having struck something hard, like metal or stone. When she turned to her sister, her eyes widened when she noticed, not streaks of platinum blond, but of ashen-white. No one had noticed when, or if the door to Lincoln's room had opened, all they knew was that the Loud sibling stood between his sisters, and took the hit that was intended for Leni.

Another moment of uncomfortable silence took over as neither Lynn, nor Leni had words for what just happened. And no Louds spectating could find a single word to muster either, more so Lori, who watched not only Leni throw quite a few choice words at Lynn, but she'd been so distracted with Leni's newfound courage that he failed to register the actions the jock had took after being insulted. Though, the eldest of the siblings was indeed surprised to see her brother appear out of nowhere, more so that he deliberately took a hit for Leni. Granted, with how he was before, there was no doubt Lincoln would've done anything for his family, even so far as taking hits for them. But with the attitude he'd been giving off lately, she'd been worried that her brother had finally snapped, and cared nothing for his family after the treatment he endured. But as it would appear; he had not.

"You're all too loud." The silence had been broken by the male sibling; his tone indicated that he had just woken up, possibly due to the screaming. It wasn't until a trickle of blood slid from his mouth down his lips that the girl's realized how much force Lynn placed in that punch, and who its intended target was. "Little early to be a hypocrite, don't you think?" Lincoln's question was aimed at Lynn as he swiped away the small trickle of blood away.

The sister in question took a moment to realize what she had done. To be mocked not just by one, but by two siblings, not to mention the glares she was getting from the rest of her sisters. Lynn wasn't one to shy away from anything, but at this moment, she'd gone too far. She lowered her head as she fast paced to her room, shutting the door with much vigor.

Following the boy's sudden arrival, he glanced to his siblings, then to Leni. His expression wasn't hostile by any means, but there was still something about his gaze that sent shivers, regardless if he was frowning or...come to think of it, the Loud siblings couldn't say that they've seen Lincoln smile after he had returned.

But, for one small moment, when Leni nervously waved to him, gesturing a thanks for intervening, an albeit faint grin formed on his lips. It was faint, but noticeable by few.

Lincoln gave a quick glance to his other sisters, clear hesitance could be seen as the elder siblings wanted to approach their brother, but were unsure over whether approaching him would play out. Before giving them a chance to say a word, the ashen haired boy turned to the stairs.

"Lincoln?" Luna called out, hoping to make amends as Leni apparently did.

"I'm going out." Although, while he did have a soft spot for Leni, he wasn't exactly going to involve himself with the rest of his siblings yet. Ignoring their faint calls, the ashen-haired boy got a few feet down the stairs before his nose twitched. His ears perked up while the small hairs on his arms seemingly stood on end. And eerie sense of dread had encompassed his senses as his eyes were glued to the front door, all the while a familiar humming sound echoed in his head.

'It can't be…' Lincoln felt the same unnerving calmness and fear he experienced that night. The memories came rushing back, the pain, the fear, the anger, all of it bubbling all at once to the surface. There was no doubt in his mind; it was the ghoul that turned him into what he was. And it was just outside his home. Humming, almost, peacefully to itself. And the speed at which it moved…it was as if taking a stroll.

But why? According to Taurus, the ghoul that attacked him was feral, right?

…Right?

 **-Outside-**

Walking peacefully along the sidewalk, a blonde teen passes the infamous Loud house, all the while humming a little tune to herself whilst holding a parasol to block the sun's rays. The edge of the parasol kept her face protected from the sun; however, its intended use was to keep the world from seeing her deep crimson pupils and black sclera. As she was nearing the house, her eyes glanced over, upon laying eyes on it, a faint grin formed on her lips as she continued her tread towards it.

'One way or another…I'll finish what I started…Linky~' her smile widened, her jagged teeth bared as her free palm reached for the door knob. She'd been waiting for two weeks, observing from afar, eager to finally have the fruits of her labor in the palm of her hands. She knocked, gently, her body seemingly trembling with excitement as she caught _his_ scent drawing ever closer towards the door. As the door knob turned, her jagged teeth and reddened eyes calmed as she intended to further taunt him.

To no one's surprise, Lincoln opened, albeit hesitantly. And when he did, he came to a rather shocking realization; the creature that attacked him, he knew her. He knew this 'feral' all too well, as did Lori as she made it oh so obvious.

"Carol?" She and the other siblings had descended after Lincoln, only to halt at the sight of their sister's rival, now apparently turned friend.

Carol's smile was unnerving, and raised many red flags as Lincoln could feel the eager bloodlust irradiating from her. All of it seemingly hiding behind that false smile she displayed for his family. But he knew better, he saw past it. He saw this teen for what she really was; the reason he became a ghoul.

Carol's head tilted to the side, her grin ever present, but her eyes reverting to a different shade to mask her true colors. She glanced to her formal rival and spoke gently. "Hey Lori, mind if I come in?"

 **This story, aye, there are so much more elements we wanna throw in here, but anymore and we'd be spoiling the future chapters. But, after quite some time, here's the next chapter, with more coming as fast as we can write 'em. If anyone is confused, don't worry, the ghoul that attacked Lincoln will be revealed...actually, she was revealed here; it's Carol. How? Stay tuned to find out. Ciao!**


	6. Master

And so it was, that the Loud house would find itself, unbeknownst to all but one, the reason behind their missing ashen-haired was sitting across from the eldest Loud sibling, drinking a glass of water offered to her by the family's matriarch. The whole of the house, minus the jock Loud, sat quietly in the living room, with Carol sitting across from Lincoln, his family surrounding him, meaning if she pulled some form of move, his family would be caught in the crossfire.

"So..." her voice, if only being heard for a mere moment, caused the male loud to shiver, ever so. The smile she displayed, it was nothing but a front. His family probably couldn't sense it, but he could; her malice and bloodlust were on unnervingly equal levels. And yet, she seemed quite at ease, handling her emotions much better than most ghouls. But then, could he really call her a Ghoul? According to Taurus, ghouls were unable to eat anything besides raw flesh, toxic herbs, and any liquid at a heated degree. And yet, from what he'd seen, Carol defied all of that; she drank cold water, ate pieces of the small snacks offered to her, and she most definitely didn't gag or show resistance to consuming these types of food. "How've you been, Lincoln?" Her eyes focused solely on him, the bloodlust was intoxicating, as was another sentiment she radiating, but he couldn't find a word for such an emotion. Admiration? Jealousy?...Lust?

Lincoln kept his eyes low, unable to meet her gaze, as every time he did, flashes of that night played, causing him to flinch. "F-fine." He answered, meekly. For the life of him he couldn't understand what it was about her that made this situation all the more nerve wrecking. Was it solely because she was the one that nearly killed him, or was it the intense negativity he felt radiating from her? Either could've been an honest answer, though, Lincoln knew she wasn't here simply to check on him. Far from it.

"That's good, when I heard you'd been found, I had high hopes that it would've been the same for..." her voice trailed, hesitating, perhaps to have her lie sound all the more convincing. "For my brother."

The expressions of those present, save for Lincoln, all shifted to that of surprise, and soon to sympathetic. There was a touch on sincerity, however hard to believe that was. He could feel a tangent of sadness, but it faded as the malice took over once again.

"They haven't found your brother yet?" It was Luan who asked, prompting another momentary wave of depression to hit the boy's sense, replaced once again by what he saw as mild jealousy in Carol's eyes.

"They did...what was left of him." Her tone was grim, as was her expression, shifting between unbridled rage and sorrow. All of this was confusing the ashen-haired boy, but to his family, they only gave their sympathy as they realized the other boy that was found was Carol's brother. The gruesome details were left out from the initial report, but the family was given as to what the police had found of the boy, or lack thereof.

"I'm sorry. If you literally need anything, don't hesitate to ask." Lori spoke first, expressing her sympathy for her friend; whilst also thankful her brother had not suffered the same fate. Almost instantly, Carol recovered with a faint smile, aimed at the male loud sibling. Sending a chill up his spine.

"It's not just what I need." Her eyes surveyed Lincoln, as if wondering if he'd pull some sort of trick. After spending some time with the other ghouls, she assumed he would've discovered his abilities by now. Though, the boy appeared more petrified by her appearance than anything else. "Lincoln." Her tone shifted, a sense of dictatorial authority made its way into her voice as she spoke. "Do you remember anything? Anything that might help the police?" And just like that, he felt his breath hitch as he realized what she'd been doing; she was fishing. Whatever he said next would determine whether course of action she would take against his family. Said family kept their eyes on Lincoln, wondering if their young Loud would have anything that could be of use to this girl. But at the same time, his parents wanted to assure him that he didn't need to say anything he was uncomfortable sharing. However, as it stood, they didn't feel that they were in a position to act like parents after what they'd done to him.

Cautiously, Lincoln shook his head. To which Carol's grin shifted to something akin to pleased.

"I see." She purred, immensely confusing the family.

"Carol?" Lori reached out to her friend, wondering why it was she appeared pleased with Lincoln's lack of information regarding his kidnappers.

Though, Carol's expression shifted to one of annoyance as she turned to the family. She raised a palm to them, her eyes glowing faintly. "You're not needed for this. Sleep." And wirh the wave of her arm, the family immediately collapsing, a few snoring quite loudly, indicating they'd fallen into slumber. "There..." Carol purred once more, her eyes shifting back to their original color, this time with blackened veins being visible near the corner of her eyes. "Now we're alone." She shifted positions, crossing her legs together as she leaned backwards, exposing a bit more than the boy was comfortable with seeing. A small glimpse of lacy blue was engraved in his mind as he tried glancing back, only to find the Carol still with the same ominous smile. Without warning, she reached down and lifted her shirt, exposing her bare stomach to the boy. And while he blushed madly at her actions, his body froze as he took notice of the noticeable scars on her sides and chest. "You remember me, don't you?" That question needed no answer, she already knew. And she was enjoying watching him shiver and squirm. But then, she remembered having watched him with the Constellation ghouls. She frowned, faintly, picturing the young boy with the blonde rocker and...the shapeshifter. "You've been having fun lately, haven't you?" Lincoln, while still avoiding eye contact, was utterly confused by her question. "With little that little rocker, and dear old Taurus." Her tone sharpened as she referred to the latter. A clear sense of disdain in the way she described the ghouls of Constellation gave a sense of where she stood amongst them. An outcast? Exile? Considering their personalities to hers, it wouldn't surprise Lincoln if she was being hunted by the ghouls for committing crimes in the eyes of their society. But then, all he had to go on was the attack on himself. He didn't really know if she was still a part of Constellation. For all he knew, she was not on friendly terms with Taurus, but still managed to work with him. That, and him being infected was all planned out.

But, if that were the case, why would Taurus tell him the Ghoul was a feral? Weren't they supposed to be mindless, frenzied ghouls set on attacking and eating anything? Did Taurus lie?

"That's no good." His eyes darted to the teen, her fingers had shifted to those same claws from that night, the memories and pain came back all at once. He rubbed his shoulder to numb the pain. Carol leaned over, her fingers dancing lightly on the wondered coffee table. "A good little boy asks permission before going out to play with strangers." Her fingers danced ever closer to Lincoln, his heartbeat paced faster the closer she got. "And you..." her fingers stopped, digging into the wood before dragging along back to Carol, her faint smile remained all through her actions. "Didn't ask for permission." She hummed, quite possible with an echo-like tone. Although, the boy was lost as to what she meant by that statement.

"P-Permission?

Carol's grin returned, though her jagged teeth remained. "Yes. It was my blood that made you one of us. Swimming through your veins is both my and your blood. More mine than yours actually, seeing as you're still alive. By ghoul law, written by the very same primordial Taurus worships; you belong to me. Your blood is my property." She purred again, relishing in everything she said as if it were truth. Judging by Lincoln's confused expression, he had no idea what she was talking about. Regardless, she wouldn't allow his ignorance to get in the way of her goal. Still, she wouldn't allow her 'toy' to be left in the dark, not if he was going to do as she commanded. She reached over for another snack Rita brought her. A triangular sandwich, ham and cheese with a light mayo spread. She ate it, slowly, in front of the young Ghoul. The evidence of her being a Ghoul was there, clear as day, but the manner in which she ate these foods that would've normally caused a Ghoul to gag, if not become poisonous if any Ghoul managed to swallow the contents, proved otherwise. The growling of his stomach indicated his hunger, and envy at her apparent ability to consume what she pleased. "Now then, come sit by me." She patted the spot to the right of her. If there was ever a clear act of defiance that Lincoln would soon come to regret, it was not going to her side as she wanted. He remained in place, unmoving, yet slightly shivering. That slightly would shift to full on as he took notice of the loss in her glee. Her smile had fainted, no scowl or anger took over, but rather, an emotionless expression. "Lincoln, come here." She insisted, patted the spot to her right a bit more forceful, less playful. Again, Lincoln chose to stay his ground, unwilling to do as this monster wanted. Of course, he came to quickly regret it as he now felt the overwhelming sense of dread as he turned to face her eye to eye, only to solely regret his decision; her eyes had reverted to their jagged selves, her eyes matched that of Taurus' description of a Ghoul, and the moderate bloodthirsty aura he'd come to notice around Sam and Haiku were dwarfed by this one's. "Lincoln." Her voice, albeit unchanging, felt evermore menacing. He could feel her emotionless stare on him. If she was this frightening now, how would she act when angered? An image flashed within his head; his family beaten and bloodied, ripped apart, soaked in a pool of their own blood. And Carol stood amongst them, smiling widely whilst nibbling on a severed limb.

Fearing the idea of it becoming a reality, Lincoln gulped and walked over to her, albeit hesitantly and cautiously. As he neared her side, her smile returned, patting the seat beside her silently. "Sit."

He obeyed.

As he did, he felt her nudge closer to him, her head resting atop his, almost affectionately. Her right hand crept along his back; the claws had not reverted to human limbs, allowing him to feel the sharpened talons caressing his skin. Her left hand was placed atop his lap; he felt her soft breathing flow down atop his head. "You see..." she whispered. "Isn't it easier to be a good boy?" Her voice was calm, soothing even. He felt her head nuzzle his, softly. She was caring, hell; he'd dare even say she was affectionate. But he knew better, he could see what few could; her emotions manifested. A rather lovely trait the ghouls has was sensing a person's emotional state, and even being able to see it in some cases. And in her case, she was all but caring and nurturing. "Lincoln?"

His eyes shifted upwards, meeting her softened gaze. She leaned over and picked up a small sand which. She held it to the boy. "Eat."

Hesitantly, knowing the outcome, he reached out with caution. Though, before being able to grasp the snack, Carol shifted it away. "No." The sandwich drifted back to him, this time he didn't attempt to grasp it, instead, he allowed her control. It was clear, she wanted to feed him, for control or whatever fantasy she had in mind. Why she didn't kill him or his family was something he couldn't fathom. Was she taunting him, prolonging her little tease? She did the same that night; she teased, played around with him. She never went for the kill, not until she lost control. So, as long as she held all the power, Lincoln felt it best to for his family's survival to simply play along.

And so, he opened his mouth, salivating at the simplest of meals approaching. But, as with all that wasn't flesh, he bagged as the contents entered his mouth. To which, he felt the sharpen claws press against his back, patting him gently. "Easy now." Her voice had gotten soft once more, but it did nothing to ease his nerves. She gently placed her left palm on his stomach, a faint glow at the tips of her claws shone for a moment before dulling. "There." She offered the sandwich once more. Though, he was evermore hesitant given what he just gagged up a few moments prior. He turned his head away, unwilling to obey her. "Lincoln." For just a moment, however. Again, he complied, believing this to be entertaining to her, which for the most part he was right. Although, as the first bite was initiated, Lincoln's eyes went wide.

He didn't gag.

His body wasn't repulsed by the bread, or the cheese, or the meat. In fact, his mouth savored each individual taste. He can finally eat normally. Without hesitating, he took multiple bites, causing Carol to tossing what little remained into Lincoln's open mouth. He ate it, regardless of circumstance. For nearly a week he had to eat what little Sam could sneak his way, while also enduring having to smell what food his family left for him at his door, knowing full well his body would be repel it. But now, he ate with leisure. He missed this flavors, and up till now he felt as if they were no longer to be felt or savored again. And yet, he was given that pleasure, by his intended killer.

And therein came back the reality of his situation; the one who intended to end his life had just called him her property, coddled him in the way one would a pet, and just gave him the satisfaction of tasting a simple meal. He froze upon feeling her head nuzzle again against his. Her right arm swung over his shoulder, holding her closely to him. He could feel her smile, that damned grin that sent shivers up his spine.

"Better?" She asked. Lincoln nodded, responding quickly as to not anger her. "Good." She muttered. They remained in silence, save for the faint snores of his still slumbering family. What he least expected, and wanted, was when Carol began running her fingers through his hair, her claws then caressing his cheek, again lovingly. "You remind me of him." Her tone was low, soft, and whisper-like. Almost as if she didn't intend him to hear, but he did. Questions sprang up, more so than before.

"H-him?" He asked, hesitantly, hoping she wouldn't find offense to him fishing for clarification.

"Yes." He felt her smile falter, if only for such a small moment. "He was so fidgety too. Twitchy. Always reluctant, never listened...until I 'persuaded' him otherwise." He felt her eyes fix on him again, the uneasiness was apparent the whole time she held him. "Hairs not the same, but I'll make do."

Make do? What was she planning? Did she intend to kill him, or was this torture going to be prolonged.

"After all..." Carol's head lifted, lowering itself to his ear level, his breath hitched at feeling hers against his cheek. "He was supposed to be what you are now." Her claws dragged down alongside his neck, slowly coming to a halt over his chest. A single claw stood, the tip edging the exact location of where his heart would be. "But I suppose my brother wasn't a viable subject. Just like the others. In the end, you were the only one to survive." Others? There were more? And they all...he was the only one to have lived? Did she plan all of this? Did she purposely infect others? And...her own brother too? Once more, Lincoln's mind swarmed with questions, more so images of other likes him. Others whose bodies were twisted, bloodied, broken, and healed. And then repeating the process, until death mercifully embraced them. But for what reason? Lost in his thoughts, Lincoln failed to notice, until planted upon him; a kiss. His body froze at the sudden contact. Though, he couldn't determine why?

Carol smiled after displaying such a gesture, grabbing Lincoln's chin and turning him towards her with her right claws. Her left fingers still pressed against his chest. "But you'll do nicely." She looked to him, fondly. If that could be believed. Her eyes narrowed, inspecting every inch of him with great interest.

'Of all the trash, I found my little pearl. You'll definitely be of use to me, and your family...might as well.' Carol's mind swarmed with images of her future subjects. Was it the Loud bloodline that allowed them to survive the infection, or was Lincoln simply a lucky fluke? '...it can't be random.' If there was ever a moment her smile faltered, it would not be now. She finally had her success, her proof. And by the laws of their kind, Lincoln rightfully belonged to her. What she did with him, or to him, was her right to. She could easily take him with her, coddle him for days before running a series of tests on him. And if he survived, she knew what she'd do with him.

"Y-you..." Lincoln attempted to speak, but the mere glance of her eyes caused him to stutter. "Y-you used...you're o-o-own b-b-brother?"

Carol's smile didn't fade, but he saw it, if only for a millisecond; her left eye twitched. And then he felt it, her left finger tips digging into his flesh, slowly. His initial reflex brought his arm up and his body to jerk backwards. Though, when he tried to move back, he felt himself digging into her right claws. Front or back, she'd draw blood. His blood. "I did." She responded, her smile ever so gleeful. "But he was weak...and tasty."

The room went silent once more; Lincoln's eyes had never been wider as she brought her left palm to her mouth, her elongated tongue swirling around her bloodied fingers, savoring the taste. Her jagged teeth had formed again, leaning close to him her face had begun to reshape. What Lincoln expected was not what he received; her Ghoul form was not the same as that night. This one's lower jaw split into six, the top mandibles with jagged teeth on the bottom, the middle had teeth on both ends, and the bottom showcased two large canines at the top with several smaller ones beside them. "I hope you're not the same...otherwise...well…" her eyes glanced to his family, all of them blissfully unaware of the monsters they've allowed into their home. "They'll help me test my theory as well." Lincoln felt pain, incredible dread and pain. He imagined his family being succumbed to what he went through, and he knew for a fact, none of them would survive, not even Lynn. She might've been the toughest of the bunch, but even she wouldn't be able to cope with what being a Ghoul entailed.

Speaking of which...

His nose twitched, as did Carol's. Their heads turned to the stairway, and there stood the jock of the Loud family; Lynn. Her mouth was agape, eyes as wide as saucers, having seen her sister's friend become something even she found, among other things, unbelievable. She'd come downstairs after cooling down, her siblings and parents were nowhere to be found upstairs, she decided to descend to the living room. Only to find her brother sitting beside Lori's former rival. The way in which she held him close to her, the uncomfortable look in his eyes, the way he shivered, and the sickening grin Carol held throughout the whole ordeal made Lynn sick to her stomach. But, she didn't intervene, not after seeing the teen's claws, her jagged teeth, her bloodlust eyes, and soon, her twisted Ghoul face. She was a monster, plain for all to see. And she was frightened, beyond all reason. And the way she described Lincoln as her property, was she the reason he disappeared? What did she do to him? And the word she used, infection; was he...like her now? And the family, she swore to use them as well.

"Oh dear." Carol's face reverted back to her human form. "We have a little rat peeking in. That won't do." She pressed her palm against Lincoln's back and forced him up. "Bring her to me." Her command was cold, yet her expression unfaltering. Was she ever to frown? Did nothing upset her? But, his thoughts were broken by the feeling of a claw on his back. "Now, Lincoln." He didn't want to. He knew what she'd do to Lynn, all the twisted ways she would handle the jock, and as much as she annoyed him, Lincoln wouldn't allow his sister to succumb to that. He shook his head, defying her orders again. And yet again, he would come to regret it as he could feel her glare on him. He didn't have it predict what would come next; he knew Carol wouldn't be pleased with his response. If the claws digging into his back were any indication; she was growing annoyed with his insistence to resist her orders. He could feel those damned things itching ever inward, if her humming was any indication; Carol cared little if he bled. Without warning, her claws ripped away from his flesh, instead he felt her turn him forcefully, as a very human hand grasped him by the throat and hoisted him into the air. "I grow tired...of your...defiance." With each pause came an increase in her grip. Lincoln's gasps for air as he struggled proved her resolve; if he was this hesitant to her orders; she saw no use for him. At least, that was what he felt. With only a single eye open, he tried looking towards Carol, and he saw her expression remain consistent. Though, he also noticed her grin had widened by such a small margin.

In what felt like a mere second, a metal bat swung and struck Carol's head. However, where with most humans this act would seem fatal, the bat ricochet off her with a metallic clang. Lynn dropped the bat at feeling the sting of hitting what felt like a hunk of steel. She hissed at the stinging pain, unaware of the pair of reddened eyes now fixated on her. But, like this freak, her glare didn't falter. After watching this bitch play with her brother like that, she couldn't stand aside anymore. Like Leni said, she was his sister.

"Let him go." Lynn demanded, caring nothing that this freak could kill her with little effort. "Now-" and again, the floors of the house was stained with the blood of another Loud. Lynn stopped in her demands, her eyes drifted downwards as blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. The sight of a claw embedded in her chest broke the Loud's fierce glare, replaced by an ever growing sense of fear and fatigue.

"Oops...I missed the heart." Carol hummed, twisting her finger as to produce a piercing scream from the young Loud. "Let's try again." Her tone indicated a sense of enjoyment, bliss; Carol was taking her time with Lynn. Her intentions weren't to kill, but as of now she couldn't exactly begin her experiments...or could she. She glanced over to Lincoln, his own blood had dried, and his wounds healed. It wouldn't take long to draw more, but then, she'd already proved that sharing human blood didn't exactly equal a safe infection. But then, he had quite a few siblings to test that theory, she only had the one. Oh how loathed contraceptives, and that fact this house seemingly never heard of the word made her giddy.

"Don't. Please...don't kill her." This time, the demand came from her little pet; he struggled with her grip whilst also seemingly begging her not to cause further harm to his sister. Aside from contraceptives, Carol disliked defiance. She didn't dislike the concept, though; she could do without disobedient children. But, she could work with this.

"Oh Linky, worrying about others before your own." Carol hummed, lifting Lynn up, as to not rip her apart instantly. Blood dripped more as the jock held on to the claw for dear life, the pain becoming more and more unbearable, and yet death would not embrace her yet. "But..." Lynn was brought closer, not to Carol, but to Lincoln. "Wasn't it this one's fault for you being kicked from your home?" The two siblings looked to one another, Lincoln's was of worry and fear for his sister, and Lynn's was of shame and pain for what she had put her brother through, and it would only intensify with what the Ghoul said next. "I should thank you, without your little rumor, Lincoln would've been harder to acquire. Don't forget to thank her too, Linky. After all, infecting you was all too easy thanks to your 'sister'." And as if having the weight of the world brought down on her, Lynn now realized why her brother had become reclusive, why he choose to stay quiet and break away from his family; it was what he must've went through with this freak. Whatever she'd done to him, he chose to deal with it alone. All the shit he had to go through, the pained torture, the sadistic bitch and her horrifying unwavering grin. And yet he still chose to beg for her life, to protect Leni. Even when faced with the prospect of death, his first instinct was to protect his family. The overwhelming guilt of her actions had finally begun to take effect, if only for the last few moments of her life.

"Please..." his voice had become raspy, his lack of air intake began to show. "I'll do...anything."

With that, Carol's grip eased, slightly, as she brought him closer to her face. "Say it."

"What?"

Her glare had eased, and her grin shrunk. "You know what I want to hear, Linky." Indeed, he did. And that frightened him. He knew what she wanted; she'd basically branded him with her claw. He hated this, he hated her. But, he couldn't let Lynn die. Or worse; become like him. "Say the words, only two words. Do that and I'll stop the pain" He didn't trust her, he couldn't. But he needed to believe that she would let Lynn live.

He didn't hesitate, he didn't falter, even with the air growing ever scarce. "I'm...I-i-I'm yours."

Her smile grew, as did the gleam in her eyes. And with it, she dropped him. He gasped, loudly, his hands rubbing at the bruised marks on his neck. Relief was temporary, as he still saw Lynn in her grasps. "Let her go." He demanded. "You said-"

To which, Carol tilted her head. "I said I would end the pain, you didn't specify who's pain." Without warning, she removed her claws from Lynn, tossing the young jock on the floor, her she clasped at her wound, feeling her body grow cold from the loss of blood. Lincoln limped to his sister, placing a hand to her wound whilst holding her close. Lynn grasped his hand, her voice becoming raspy as she tried with each gasp to call his name. He felt the warmth in her touch fading, the light in her eyes growing ever dark.

The pain in his heart grew, the idea of losing his sister was eating at him with each passing second. He couldn't let her die, but what could he do? He didn't even know what his ability was, let alone how to control it. Sam had no idea what was happening, she couldn't intervene. And Taurus...no, there would be no help coming. Without even putting up a fight, the Louds were surrendering to this Ghoul. It infuriated him, to be so weak, to be pushed around. Even with his enhanced strength and senses, this girl was far above him.

Seeing him break was a joy to watch. She never intended to kill off a subject so easily, but she'd seen what he could do; his inspiration was like a sickness, almost like the blood of the ghouls. But, with the death of his sister, he'd no doubt submit. Though, of all the things Carol anticipated, what occurred next was far beyond her predictions.

Lincoln began sobbing, his left palm gripped the left half of his face, possibly in an attempt to stop the tears. Lynn watched as her brother broke down, the guilt of not being able to protect her was growing to such extremes. It pained her to watch him like this, to cry for someone that didn't deserve his love. She loved him, she wouldn't deny that. And it ate her inside when he went missing, and when he came back she felt as if a piece of her life had shone brightly once more. She preferred seeing him cold and scolding than to see him in pain like this. She wanted to reach to him, to tell him not to cry for her, to tell him that this was not his fault. But, it wouldn't have done any good. He would still feel guilty, he would still cry, Carol would break him.

Watching this, this display of sibling love and affection, it irked Carol. Such acts, the words, the emotions behind it...she hated it. This was weakness. She raised her right arm; the bones had reshaped themselves into a scythe. She knew what would happen, Lincoln would recover. The other...didn't matter. With one swift motion, her scythe severed the two in half. Ending the life of one, and leaving the other in a state of recovery, free for her to take home. And hell, why let the jock's body go to waste, maybe her flesh would do well for the ashen haired boy. Especially when Carol told him whose meat he had consumed.

Or at least, that's what she intended, as her scythe made contact, their physical forms shattered, almost like glass. The blood was still present, but she noted the drag marks leading to the door entrance. Her smile faltered, only for a moment as her eyes landed on the blond rocker, a ebony haired girl, a young ebony haired girl tending to the jock's wounds, and...Taurus.

"Aquarius." He growled, Carol's grin grew, something about her former name brought her a sense of joy.

"Taurus." She replied, retrieving her parasol as she had predicted how this would possibly end. "This doesn't concern you. This youngling belongs to me." She pointed at Lincoln.

"Like hell he does!" Sam managed to shriek out, though, she too shivered in place as Lincoln did. She knew who this was, both from school, and from working alongside her for a while.

Aside from the small outburst, Taurus stood firm against his former comrade, particularly for the reason she'd been exiled. Or rather, the reasons. "Since when do you follow Ghoul law? Or any law for that matter?"

"Isn't it obvious?" She replied with a small chuckle, further enraging the shapeshifter. "Whenever it benefits me."

Taurus' glare only furrowed, she didn't change. He had hopes, high as they were. But Aquarius was as she always was; a monster. "It was said you went feral. It surprised no one, no sane Ghoul would've stayed by your side. Sadly, though, here you stand."

"Such a gentlemen." She teased, she twirled her parasol, aiming it at her former, and first, subject. "But what I say is truth; Lincoln only became a Ghoul through my blood, and so, by law he belongs to me."

"Wrong!" Sam shouted again, her anger had boiled to newer levels. She had become worried over Lincoln's absence to their usual meet ups, and with the lack of responses to her texts she came to check up on him. Now, she looked to Lincoln with a great deal of guilt, she was tasked with keeping an eye on him, and this exiled monster had snuck her way in and branded him as her own. She didn't believe it. She wouldn't. "It was Europa, she infected him."

A faint chuckle escaped Carol's lips, just as her chuckle grew to a full on taunting laugh. The young Ghoul was confused, immensely. Why was this one laughing? She turned to Taurus, hoping for answers, but his expression remained stern. "Taurus, why is she laughing?"

"..."

"Taurus?" Sam's hope was hanging by a thread, she refused to believe Lincoln belonged to this witch.

When her laughing fit ceased, Carol remained focused on Taurus. "You wanna tell her, or should I?" It was clear her glee over this situation was bountiful. Though, she didn't wait for Taurus to respond. In response, she reshaped her body, Lincoln's eyes widened as he was greeted to the same form that chased him into the forest not too long ago. Although, he wasn't the only one surprised, as both Sam Haiku looked to her with shock. Only Taurus appeared unimpressed. For he knew how she was able to do this, and it made her all the more terrifying as an enemy. Once she'd finished reforming, she turned to Lincoln, while having no eyes, the mere fact that the blank face was facing his general direction unnerved him. And when she spoke, it followed with a hissing gurgle tone. "Europa is feral; she would've killed him the moment he walked into the forest. But Taurus is right; I was feral...for a while."

At this, Sam stood in front of Taurus, her body begun reshaping to her Ghoul form. "Liar! No one recovers from feralism."

"Virgo!" Taurus held her back with a single palm, unwilling to watch her attempt to go head to head with this former zodiac.

"Aww, a new Virgo. What happened to the last one?" Her tone was irritating, but her words sparked a great deal of questions. Especially within Sam. She knew well that there was a Virgo before her; she'd been chosen to replace her. As were the other zodiacs beside Taurus. All of the new ones were mere replacements, all except Taurus, and Aquarius. "Oh wait..." she placed a hand against her lip, her tongue licking her lips with no subtlety. "I remember now."

If her intention was to instill fear in the younger ones, she was doing one helluva job at it. Haiku had been tending to Lynn's wounds, but hearing what occurred to Sam's predecessor, she felt herself shivering at the thought of succumbing to the same fate. As for Sam, she had heard her predecessor fell to a fellow Ghoul, but to hear this implication, and with Taurus making no move to correct her, she felt herself feeling less sure of her chances of fighting this Ghoul.

Judging by the horrified look in her eye, Carol's words had more effect on the young one than she had anticipated. This only fed in to her ego, and furthered her want to taunt these little ones. "What's wrong, didn't they tell you? Of course not, why would he? What would keep his family together if the ghouls knew they could recover from feralism?" The widened eyes of the children present were filled with confusion and mild curiosity. There was a way to recover from becoming feral? And she knew of this? Was this just a way for her stall or break their morale? Or was she telling the truth? But then, why would the primordial not tell them? Wasn't the threat of feralism the common fear of the ghouls? "But I've said enough. Come Lincoln." She clapped her hands twice, gesturing the boy to come to come to her as a dog would.

"You're not taking him." Sam reinforced her statement, unwilling to let him be taken by this witch.

As with all that's happened, Carol's smile remained unfaltering. Instead, she chose to play to Lincoln's nature. "That's fine. But that's the beauty of having such a large family." Her eyes drifted to the still slumbering Louds. "You can't watch everyone." She turned to leave, but as she approached the door, a voice called to her. One she expected to hear.

She wouldn't stop, she'd come back. And Lincoln already knew, from hearing the ways Taurus spoke of his people and their feelings towards humans; he couldn't rely on them to protect his family. And he wasn't strong enough to do anything either. The fact that his first encounter with a Ghoul intending on killing him, and he was weak in every aspect left him with no reassurance that any possible training could help him. Considering she'd attack whenever she wanted, there was no way to predict when she'd make her move.

"Wait." Lincoln gave his sister one last look, her wounds had been closed, but the blood and fatigue remained. She had nearly passed out, but for the moment she remained conscious. "If I go with you, you'll leave them alone?"

"I don't see why I need to bargain with my property. But, if it'll put your mind at ease, and if you'll do what I command, unwavering, I'll consider it." It wasn't much, but if he pleased her, she wouldn't need to continue harassing his family. It took all his willpower to rise up and walk to her side. Sam had tried holding him back, embracing him from behind, she'd done what she never before did; she begged. Pleased that she would help him protect his family, that they'd find a way. But they both knew; she was well above them.

Lincoln broke away from her, his goal was to protect his family, anything else came second. He looked up to face his master; she was smiling. That's all she ever showed, her smile. This was her way of saying; I win. A fight couldn't be waged here, the Louds would be caught in the crossfire, and they couldn't take it outside, a fight in broad daylight was sure to draw attention. Feeling this the only way, Lincoln chose to give himself to her, if only to ensure his family would be spared this world.

As he stood by her side, her claws stroked his cheek gently. "There's a good boy." She used a claw to slice at the air, though, the resulting action created a rip in the air. A red oval erupted from the rip. "Come now, we're leaving." Carol was the first to step through the orb, Lincoln hesitated. Every fiber in his being wanted to stay, but Carol already proved how willing she was to do whatever it took to get what she wanted, regardless of the lines she'd need to cross. As he turned one last time, he caught his sister, staring at him, her hands reaching out to him, presumably trying to speak his name. She was calling to him, he was leaving, again, and this time, he would probably never return. With a hardened heart, he turned away from her and entered the orb.

With his decision, the orb collapsed soon after.

The remaining party was left only with the weight of their defeat, losing another one of their own to to this long time enemy. Sam was still on her knees, crying softly whilst cursing at her failure to protect Lincoln. Taurus stood silent, deep in his own thought. That was, until he felt a tug at his pants. It was Haiku, staring at him intently.

"That portal, I remember it." This caught Sam's attention, Lynn had passed out, and Taurus was with a similar reaction to Sam's. Haiku continued. "I remember it because it was Libra's ability. And the way she shape-shifted into Europa, that's your power. How?"

Taurus walked over to Lynn, glancing over to the family, he sighed. They would awake, not any time soon, but they would awaken. Lynn would as well, but hers would take time. If they moved now, they could have her at Constellation's HQ, have her wounds healed completely, and her memory dealt with. Though, judging by the hardened glare the poet was sending his way, he'd have to sedate their curiosity. "All you need to know is that she was the sole reason the other zodiac's fell; she used our powers against us. Her power is to…she is…a mimic."

 **Wow, this chapter was completed a helluva lot faster than usual. Be that as it may, we'd like to point out something really important; Carol is not going to be op, she will have her weaknesses, just give it some time. Also, hope you enjoyed the read, until next time. Ciao!**


	7. Defects

Pain, unending pain coursed through her body. And why would it be any different, it didn't kill her, it toyed with her. Adding to it the insults, the blatant disregard for how Carol treated her supposed property, and the most infuriating of all; Lincoln. He gave himself up, agreed to be her pet, left his family once again, and all of it to protect his family. Only when the threats came that he surrendered, and while it infuriated the Lynn, she couldn't help but see reason in it. Perhaps being close to death finally gave her a reason to sit back and think on the situation rather than dive straight at a problem. But as with most things, thinking over this whole ordeal only raised more questions.

Lost in darkness, she heard something, muffled, calling to her. It only became clearer the more she focused on it. It only took a few seconds for light to pierce through her apparent abyss, following with it were much louder voices. Her eyes twitched as she, by instinct, groaned and attempted to rise up. Only to be caught by two pair of hands, urging caution their voices did. Listen, she did not. Without heeding their advice she brushed them away as she attempting to sit straight up, only to feeling a stinging pain in her chest, forcing her back down. Her body twitched, for the pain was not a culmination, it was a sudden spark of intense agony. Lynn's groans were masked by nothing as those still with her kept urging caution. It wasn't until she heard a familiar voice that her eyes snapped wide open.

"Stubborn moron." As the light settled, in her view were two hooded, partially masked figures tending to her. The upper half of their faces were covered, though, it was the rather sizable fangs they spotted that caught the jock's attention.

"Antila, Vela." The two hooded women turned, revealing Sam with a less than pleased expression. "Leave us." The two glanced to one another, then to Sam before bowing respectfully and exiting the room rather quickly. Leaving the blond rocker alone with the jock. And taking a quick glimpse around, Lynn took notice the overbearing dark green colored walls with thin golden crosses, lined only with a touch of maroon at knee height down. But, as she took a better look around, she noticed that only she and Sam were on the room, the place being practically empty, save for a chair or two by the door, and the bed from which Lynn lay on.

The way she spoke to what Lynn assumed to be nurses gave her the image that this rocker held some for of authority within wherever they were, it sure as Hell wasnt the Loud house. But, as her memory played back to recent events, she remembered Sam changing her appearance as well; she was the same, if not vaguely similar to Carol, and that was enough to have the jock distrust her right off the bat.

Speaking of which, her hands still stung from when she took her swing at Carol, bitch had quite a stern head, it even made a clang sound when she struck. If the scar on her chest was anything to go by, she was nothing but a bug to that thing, something not even worth her time, and yet she still toyed with her if only to get Lincoln to submit to her. And then it hit her; Lincoln gave himself up to keep her and the rest of their family safe. He made a sacrifice for them like it was second nature, caring little for whatever was planned for him by that damned witch. Her blood boiled at remembering the way Carol was touchy with Lincoln, the way she spoke to him, and the manner in which she claimed him as her own. What was she? What did she do to her brother? What were they?

"You done daydreaming?" The irritated tone of the rocker brought the jock loud back to her senses, though, she was less than pleased to still be in the same room as the girl who tried to take her brother, more so now that she knew what same was; the same as Carol. She didn't respond, she wouldn't, not to Sam.

"Leave her alone, Virgo." Another voice caught her attention, this time from above, her eyes shot upwards, catching another sight that reminded Lynn of her sister Lucy, whilst also giving her a mild heart attack as well; Haiku was on the ceiling, seemingly unaffected by gravity as she was more focused on a book in front of her rather than the already woken up Loud. And that name, Virgo, the other one, Taurus, said it too. "She lost her brother twice in one month, you could cut her some slack." Haiku reminded.

"Wouldn't have happened if she acted like an actual sister in the first place." She murmured rather loudly.

Lynn wanted so badly to slug this rocker across the face, but she couldn't. She was too weak, her body was almost numb, and the fatigue kept her in place. All she could do was take the insults, she was never used to taking guff from anyone, but it would appear that in this case, she had no choice but to take it. After all, Carol was right, painful it was to admit it; it was Lynn who pushed the narrative. She continued the rumor, she pushed her brother away, all for a stupid superstition. And now she was living with the consequences, that being she was now under the mercy of whatever these people were. She had many questions, most related to whether or not her brother was their top priority in terms of retrieval. As it was stated in what little she heard before passing out, there were more of them out there, but whether or not they'd help Lincoln was entirely up to their stance on Carol.

"Virgo, enough." Again, a new voice appeared, though, now it was from the door. Oddly enough, it opened silently with that same police officer that claimed to be Sam's dad walking in. Seeing this man brought out a small tangent of pink in her cheeks, but if he was here, then the man was fully aware of what the blonde rocker and Haiku were, meaning he was probably one of them too. In a surprising twist, without much warning, his body shifted, twisting about in a similar manner to Carol's as his form settled on the one she remembered belonging to the one they called Taurus. It wasn't any different,t save for the somewhat pale, yet still dark skin, haunting eyes, apparent tattoos on his face. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Taurus. These are my kin, Virgo." He gestured to the rocker, who huffed at the jock before turning away. "And Scorpio." He gestured upwards to Haiku, she waved halfheartedly before returning her attention to her book. Zodiacs. It didn't take long for Lynn to put the pieces together, especially after she remembered this one referred to Carol as Aquarius. These...whatever they were referred to themselves by the twelve zodiac signs. So then, there were only twelve of them, right?

"Skip the fucking formalities and erase her damn memory already." Sam spewed out, caring little for the Loud sibling that pushed Lincoln towards the edge multiple times. Though, the idea of someone tampering with her memories, erasing her memories so easily left her with widened eyes. What were they going to erase? Their existence? Lincoln? Her breathing became heavy as her heartbeat sped up. She didn't want to forget her brother, the thought of him being out of her life forever, it was too much to bear. It was as if ripping out a piece of herself and tossing it aside.

Taurus turned his head to Sam, disappointment apparent in his eyes. "Virgo. Enough." He wouldn't need to say it a third time. "Forgive her, she's grown fond of young Lincoln. Seeing him in the hands of Aquarius has put her on edge."

Sam's foot tapped with ever growing annoyance, particularly now aimed at Taurus.

"W-what...are you?" The question she wanted to ask, Lynn cared little if Sam like Lincoln or not...actually, she cared a whole lot. But she saved her energy for something far more important; understanding what it is she was going up against the next time she saw Carol.

Taurus showed no reaction to her question, having been asked this many times before. "If the rest of society could brand us we would be called monsters, demons, devils...abominations. But, our term is simply; ghouls." Haiku dropped from the ceiling, her body forming to into the Ghoul natural form; hers being a taller slimmer version of herself, long claws in place of fingers, a similar face to the one Carol displayed; no facial features, a blank slate. And when displaying her open palms, Lynn took notice of two slits opening up in the ghoul's palms, revealing themselves to be mouths. Their jagged teeth and elongated tongues only furthered how much of a horror fiction novel these things belonged in. And yet, they weren't at all what movies would portray a monster, save for Sam though. And it seemed Taurus was the more gentle of the three, given that he showed no intention of harming the jock Loud.

Yet.

But, this also sparked an unnerving reality that Lynn finally pieced after taking in Haiku's form. "S-s-so, Linc is like this too?"

Haiku reverted to her human form, her eye diverted to the side, tilting her head as if pondering something. Which she was; of the time she spent with Lincoln, while having the smell and instincts of a Ghoul, he never once reverted to his Ghoul form. Or rather, could he? For most of their kind, their original form was usually what they started off with when recovering from the infection state, only after practice did they manage to revert to their human forms. And yet, Lincoln was the opposite, an anomaly, or at least that's what Taurus and a few others murmured over.

"Yes and no." Taurus responded. "While your brother is a Ghoul like us, he has not exactly shown much change save for his enhanced instincts. After referring to the council, we believe it was Aquarius' doing that has kept his progression stagnant." He knew he said too much as both Sam and Haiku were now staring at him with much curiosity. The fact that one Ghoul alone was able to alter their newly acquired hereditary traits left them with piling questions that threatened to bubble past the surface of containment.

"And how would the witch be able to do something like that?" Haiku asked, surprising Taurus as he had never once thought he'd hear the poet refer to anyone, least of all Aquarius, by anything but their name. Odd as it was, Haiku never truly stuck to nicknames, insulting or otherwise, as it all felt childish to her. Even though the latter was technically a child herself.

Back to the matter at hand, Taurus remained silent for the most part, unsure over whether to further elaborate over what exactly Carol had become. The rumor was known nearly all of constellation's members, but the truth of her exile was known only by the original zodiacs and the primordial. Case in point, only Taurus and their leader knew why Aquarius had turned on them.

"As I said before, Carol's ability allows her to mimic the abilities of other ghouls. She simply copied what was Libra's portals. Amongst others..." he muttered. "However, She was not idle during her time with us. She studied our kind extensively, and the things she did...the experiments she conducted..."

"Are a danger to all." All eyes turned to the entrance. Standing with his arms crossed behind his back was the leader of Constellation. Beside him were two ghouls dressed in the same robe as he, though, their hoods denied any viewing of their faces. The need for secrecy in this case was a necessity, primarily over what was decided for the young Loud. As he entered, the three present ghouls bowed their heads respectfully as the primordial approached Lynn. His eyes examined the young Loud, from her injuries to the ever trembling state she was in. "The Council has reached its decision." His eyes glanced briefly to Taurus, though eye contact was not met. "The council votes in favor of Capricorn's proposal; the family's memory of this day will be erased. As will this one's." As he approached her, her shaking became all the more noticeable, particularly since if these things could alter memories, then there was a chance they wouldn't take a risk with her; they'd get rid of her. Though, lost in her panicked state, she failed to notice a claw press gently against her head, by the time she finally took notice, it had begun to remove what appeared to be a glowing white string. The effects of removing the string were felt instantly as Lynn's eyes twitched for a few seconds before she inevitably passed out.

Reaching within his enlarged sleeve, the primordial retrieved a small test tube, placing the string inside and sealing the small container. Once done, he handed the vial to one of the hooded ghouls and began to take his leave, only for Sam to call out to her leader.

"So that's it then?" The primordial stopped, if only for a moment. "With their memories erased, now we just forget about Lincoln and continue on with our lives?" The primordial frowned, albeit faintly.

"Without so much as knowing where to look for Aquarius, for now, that's all we can do." The leader answered before leaving. Allowing Sam and Taurus to take in what just happened. Whilst Haiku kept her mind focused on what would proceed next.

' _How are we going to explain this to his family?'_

 **-Unknown Location-**

In what could only be described as a refitted base, Lincoln found himself, after exiting Carol's portal, in a rather large underground cavern. The ever echoing dripping water ringed for hours in his ears, the sight of residue and collapsed corridors gave him a clear idea of what occurred here; a desperate, unprecedented, attempt to keep something from getting out. Judging by the deepened scratches on what appeared to be reinforced walls, it might've worked. Though, what existed in the quarantined cavern was a still perfectly usable lab. How he knew he was underground was the mass of what he hoped was a stable bulk of dirt above him. The steel ceiling stilled covered much of the small facility, but it depending on how deep they were, it wouldn't last should there be an accident of some sorts. It gave home ideas for how to rid himself of Carol. Though, judging by initial impressions, she had to have other ghouls down here, how else would she stave off feralism. Then she had claimed to overcome such a state, and if there was truth to that statement, then there was more to being a Ghoul than Taurus knew of. Whether he liked it or not, Carol, for some reason, knew more than Constellation did, or whatever she discovered were secrets exclusive to her alone. Either way, he couldn't deny he was impressed with her collective abilities.

Walking about the somewhat dirty hallways, he quickly took note of how he underestimated the how deep this structure dug into earth. Four or three stories, judging by what he could see from a balcony overlooking the entire facility. It almost resembled a vault from a familiar game her played. The color scheme was off, as was the tech, but the dirt and grime were there. Though, it wasn't as abandoned as he expected. Nevertheless, he continued his trek inwards cautiously. Did Carol dump him here, or was she just messing with him. Either of the two could've been plausible.

"Welcome home, Linky."

Then again, maybe not. His eyes glanced upwards; nothing, he glanced around, seeing nothing Lincoln wondered where her echo was originated from. It wasn't until he felt her hand on his shoulder that he had a clear idea. Though he wasn't too fond of her touching him, there really wasn't much he could do. Her grip tightened as she slumped over him, none too forceful but at the same time with enough force to keep him pinned.

"Like it? To think, the humans that captured me tried to seal this place off so that I couldn't escape." Carol giggled, her head nuzzled against his head, as if his hair were made of silk. Gently, she cupped his chin and turned his head towards a room with glass walls, within were large tubes one would only think to see in fictional movies. Within them were disfigured and possibly decaying corpses, Ghoul or human, Lincoln couldn't tell. "Well, they were just as useless keeping me contained as they were test subjects. Everyone thinks I'm dead...or, they used to." She released her grip on the ashen haired boy, pacing calmly towards the balcony. Her attention was fixated on the laboratory that once contained her, now reduced to bits of rubble, all by her hands. Her palm gestured Lincoln to her side, he did so. As he stood beside her, his eyes examined more of the place he was now to call home. "How much did Taurus tell you? Of ghouls?" Her tone shifted, while her smile remained, Lincoln could feel the venom in her tone when she spoke of her former comrades.

"Not a lot, he only told me how ghouls looked. The two Ghoul factions. And how everyone only has one ability." He replied, meekly. Mostly due to feeling ever growing malice from Carol.

"I knew it, they wouldn't have told you any Ghoul secrets. Not unless you joined them." She again embraced him, her arms swimming over his shoulders, her head now nested comfortably against his neck. "Not me." She whispered, pressing her body closer to his, fully aware of Lincoln's ever growing need to separate from her. Her grip tightened,p as her hands drifted downwards. "I won't leave my ghoulings in the dark." She giggled, eerily. "Well, not entirely." She removed herself rom him, much to his relief. Though, as she turned to walk away, Carol gestured him to her side again, and like a newborn pup, he followed closely. Their walk took them to the lowest level, the sounds of screams and banging were not even audible from the top level, but entering the second, they were faint. As they descended to the last level, past three reinforced rooms, the two came to a stop in front of what looked like a cage, with only a single open slit, within a hollow room. A fowl stench invade his senses, his nose directing to source to the steel cage in the middle of the room.

Carol approached it, her smile all the more evident. Each footstep she made echoed within room. The sounds of her approaching caused whatever was in the cage to begin to bang harder against the cage. He heard a raspy voice trying to scream out, desperately calling in a tongue unknown to Lincoln. She stopped by the entrance, keeping closely to the sides of the cage where the slit was blind to. Carol gestured Lincoln to approach. Hesitantly, he did, but he kept a greater distance from the slit, unwilling to peek into whatever was in this box. But as he did, he heard a raspy voice call out again.

"H-hello...someone...anyone..." there was a clear hint of desperation, and from the tone of this voice, she was young. Maybe around his age. Lincoln's eyes glanced to Carol, her smile widened, as she tapped on the cage. She gestured him to speak, it didn't matter what he said so long as he started the conversation.

"Um...hello?" Without warning, he heard a faint gasp from the cage, peeking slightly in he saw a pair of ruby red pupils. Their eyes, almost saurian, with a slithering sound heard from within the cage.

"H-h-h-help...please. Let me out."

Also without warning was when a small silver object was tossed his way. He caught it, though, when looking at what exactly it was, his confusion over this situation only increased.

A key.

That's what it was, and presumably the one to open the cage.

Carol tapped the top of the cage in a rhythmic manner. "Oh Nikki~" Lincoln swore he heard the one in the cage's breath hitch at the sound of Carol voice. "What did I say?" With a swift swing, Carol struck the top of the cage, denting it, causing a small yelp to echo from within. She smirked, turning back to Lincoln. "She was one of the first, a beta, if you will. Her variables were nothing but a guess...though, she was more...vocal than I expected." She chuckled, a sound that made both Lincoln and the Ghoul inside the cage cringe. But, for the one trapped within containment, she knew more of what Carol did to those she managed to get her hands on. As if showing regret for her actions, Carol caressed the dent she made. "That's the reason I keep this thing in here, on more than one occasion she's been too...cocky. I do this to teach her proper manners...also, it's rather fun hearing hear scream and beg." Or rather, she cared little for regret. For it was apparent; she had none. Her attention remained on the container as she addressed Lincoln. "I took her from a city nearby, I had high hopes for this one as well, but she failed to meet my expectations. And yet, she didn't die. I'm faintly impressed, but then, there are insects that are just as irritatingly difficult to kill." Her eyes glanced to Lincoln, seemingly surprised that what was cowering in the cage was a living experiment, as Carol put it. "This is your first task; tame her. Or kill her, I don't care. If you succeed then consider this my gift to you, this defect is yours to play with. But remember Linky..." she walked towards him, using a finger to nudge his chin upwards, gazing him directly in the eye. "You. Are. Mine." She drew ever closer to him, their lips only a mere meters away. Until, her grin eased as she turned to walk away. Before exiting, she called to him, whilst never turning back to face him. "Make me proud."

As she left, Lincoln heard sniffling, as well as barely stifled sobbing coming from the cage. Carol called her a defect, what that meant could've been anything. Hell, she might as well be a Ghoul that didn't transform right, or maybe her body was immune to Carol's blood. Whatever the cause, he couldn't leave her like this. He walked up, kneeled before the slit and searching for Carol's victim. Due to the slit being the only opening, very little light shone in the cage.

"Hey...she's gone." His words received no response, at least none in the form of proper speech. A snarl was directed his way as whatever was in the cage banged against the side of the cage Lincoln was in. He stumbled backwards as the room echoed with the girl's apparent desperation finally breaking through.

"Stop mocking me!" The voice was still raspy, but she somehow found enough energy to verbally retaliate. "I'm not gonna fall for it again. I know you're still there you bitch! Let. ME. OUT!" The banging increased as what sounds like claws were attempting to force the slit open, perhaps to wedge it wide enough for her to make leverage. "I promise...I promise I'll be good...I'll be a good girl...please..." her voice broke into heart-wrenching sob.

She thought Lincoln was Carol. Having been here, presumably for quite some time, the ashen-haired boy could only assume she knew of Carol's abilities. But to instill such fear into someone, in a prolonged period of time, he could only shiver at what...Nikki, went through. But, if only for a moment, there was some fight in her, and it would work to his advantage. Hopefully.

"I'm not her." He spoke, calmly. Lincoln sat at the cage's opening, key in hand. He wouldn't taunt or torture her, but he needed to establish who was in charge. He already saw how powerful ghouls could be, especially since their appearances were almost always different, meaning whatever shape Nikki was could easily overpower him. She'd kill him if the idea that he was Carol remained in her mind. As much as he wanted to free her from her prison, he couldn't, not while she was like this. "I'm like you; a toy she picked off the street." He winced at referring to himself as the very thing Carol taunted him over.

"..." there was a moment of silence, broken only with an immediate hissing from the cage as a pair of ruby red appeared once again. "Why should I believe you?" As a response, Lincoln held up the cage key again, immediately catching her attention. "...you gonna taunt me?"

"No, I need a friend. Especially if I'm gonna be here with...her. Besides, you need me as well. You know what happens to a Ghoul that's been isolated for too long? Don't you?" Nikki was silent, but she knew. She knew all too well, she watched as the others brought with her slowly deteriorated, prisoners she spoke to, befriended; all of them eventually succumbing to feralism.

"I do." She whispered. "I've seen it...so many ghouls...so many friends...i don't wanna see it happen again..." And with that, her eyes retreated into the shadows of her cage. Though, her tone was easily seen through; she was scared. The thought of becoming an emotionless, seemingly mindless, ever-hungry cannibal was looming closer her way. If Lincoln truly walked away, she'd eventually be left to her fate. But, she'd been through enough of Carol's tricks and experiments; if he'd just kill her now, she could go in peace.

Whatever Carol put her through, the effects remained. This girl preferred dying than associating in any way with her captor. Glancing around, Lincoln took note of the purpose of this room; isolation. This was probably another way of torturing a Ghoul, isolating them. It struck the boy as an odd trait that ghouls would go feral if left alone for too long. But, that only made the need for partnerships all the more a necessity. In this case, the two of them knew, even if there was no trust, they'd need to stay aligned if they wished to avoid feralism.

"What if I promise to get her back, for all the things she's done?" And just like that, her interest was caught, but Nikki treaded cautiously. While the stench in her cell was indeed strong, she still caught Carol's scent on him. How could she forget that damned stench of the witch? But, she also caught someone else's. A newcomer's, stronger than Carol's. Her eyes reappeared, though, only one as it cautiously fixated on him.

"You'll kill her?"

"Worse..." both her eyes were now on his, her pupils dilated as she watched Lincoln's eyes shift from their usual color to those only a Ghoul would show. "I'm going to break her." And there it was again, that echo that came with his apparent Ghoul form. While only his eyes ever changed; black scleras and lightish amber took hold.

In this one instance, for once in her life, Nikki looked to another Ghoul with fear equal to that of Carol's. For what reason she couldn't exactly place into words, but the more she looked into his eyes, the more she felt herself shivering, almost violently to a point. His non-changing expression didn't help either. "So..." he fiddled with the key for a bit before gesturing it to Nikki. "You in?" That voice was unnerving, it was as if two people were speaking at once. Not simply for the echo in his tone, but rather it actually felt like there were two people speaking at once. "Besides..." in a surprising twist, his eyes shifted back to their normal colors, and only one voice spoke this time around. "Give it time, and she'll find someone else to play with, it'll give us more time to plan something out." As he spoke, he unlocked the cage, allowing Nikki to open it, albeit slowly. Hesitantly, she pushed it open, allowing more light to enter her dwelling and allowing Lincoln to see better within. When he expected to hear footsteps, instead he heard slithering. Out popped the head, disheveled and dirty platinum blonde. Dirt and dried blood encompassed most of her skin and tattered clothing. Her cheeks had a unique scale-like feature, and her arms were even more aligned with saurian features. And as she emerged further from her cage, she slithered out, for the lower half of her body was that of a serpent. To put it mildly, she was...amazing. Lincoln had only seen what he remembered to be Europa's form, but to see Nikki's.

Catching his seemingly unending state, the young Ghoul snapped at him. "What?"

Realizing he'd been looking for too long, and with a mild tint of pink in his otherwise pale cheeks, he chuckled nervously before pointing to her. Nothing in particular, just her.

"Even with the dirt and grime...you're...beautiful." To say she was surprised was an understatement. He could've said anything, literally anything at all, but to say that. She had no words. Of all the response she could've had to this, Loud house Nikki was at a loss for words. "And tall."

...

Without warning, and perhaps for the first time since she arrived in this hell hole; she laughed. It was hoarse, and raspy, but she still managed to laugh. That was something she always expected, and yet, it took a backseat to his initial reaction. It wasn't until she was fully out of the cage that she could finally smell him better, he had a variety of scents on him, most faint, only one irritating. But, there were two stronger ones, above the many scents he carried on him, there were two similar, yet obviously different smells. For ghouls, when forced to live in the shadows, only free when the world was dark, their senses, primarily their smell and hearing were enhanced greatly. But, everyone had one distinct scent, and if there were others, most likely it was due to recent physical contact. So then, why did he have two?

"I'm Lincoln, by the way." Nikki's thoughts were put on hold.

"Nikki." She responded.

' _Well done.'_ Both their eyes widened, their blood ran cold as they heard what appeared to be Carol's voice echoing in the room. _'Not how I would've proceeded, but then, we all train our pets differently.'_ The source came from speakers hanging by the corners of the room.

"She's not my pet!" Lincoln snapped, earning a surprised look from Nikki.

Silence engulfed the room before Carol spoke up. _'I see...so then get rid of it.'_ The hearts of both ghouls began beating rapidly; knowing full well Carol would actually go through with it if he didn't. _'Better yet, eat her.'_

If their surprised expressions weren't telling enough; they couldn't believe the witch would make them do such a thing. In all honesty, perhaps maybe they did, but to hear her so casually pit two kids against each other, to kill one another and afterwards eat the other's carcass; it made their stomachs turn. They glanced at one another, seeing the fear in one another's eyes gave them the assurance that neither would go through with what Carol wanted. But, to deny her what she wanted was only to invoke whatever twisted punishment she would think up. Though, what she spoke of next would truly break them.

' _Go ahead; don't you want to be strong faster? How do you think little Nikki earned her little current state? Here's a little fun fact; little Nikki...well, she helped quite a bit with the disposing of the failed subjects. But just in case, I made sure to starve her just enough.'_

While Lincoln was, for a brief moment confused, Nikki was quivering in place. The few times she was fed, the meat she was given...it was all her former friends. The people stuck with her. All of them, hacked and given to her on a literal silver platter. Her shaking hands placed themselves against her mouth, sharp gasps escaped her mouth as she fell to her...not her knees, but with only one arm to keep her up from collapsing on the floor, Nikki felt herself gag at the thought of eating her former comrades. And to make the image worse, she remembered enjoying her meals, every time.

' _What's wrong Nikki, you look surprised? Did you really think I would waste meat? But don't worry, I had a nibble too.'_ Her glee in all this was shown no subtlety. The hatred Nikki felt towards Carol only grew. A small giggle echoed for much longer than comfort wanted. _'Well, lessons will have to be for later then, if you're not gonna eat her than hurry on up to the dormitories, your team awaits you.'_

This brought on a new batch of questions. What exactly did she mean by team? More ghouls?

' _Oh, but I don't want your pet making a mess of my floors, take her to the baths and clean her up.'_ And with that, the doors to the room opened.

With no intention of treating her the way Carol wanted, Lincoln merely walked with Nikki to where they assumed was the baths, standing outside as she slithered in to clean herself up. As she did, Lincoln wondered what exactly their master, a term he hated but used nonetheless, had planned for them? Up until now, Carol was experimenting on ghouls, from what he could deduce from the way she treated those in the tubes and how she spoke of Nikki and those before her. And yet, Taurus never mentioned her. It was odd; Carol seemingly knew a way for ghouls to consume regular food, albeit for a short period of time. And judging by Nikki's nearly human appearance, save for the snake half, it seemed whatever Carol was aiming for in her experimentation; she drew ever closer to her goal. Or, she was nowhere near it. Either way, it would be beneficial to stay and learn what he could from this witch. Even he had to admit, while sadistic and cruel her tactics were, she demonstrated a greater understanding of Ghouls then the ones who claimed themselves to be the first faction of their kind.

After about ten minutes, the two ghoulings made their way to the dormitories, which were made easy to find thanks to signs around each corridor directing their path. Though, their walk was long, intentionally, as neither was especially thrilled to be heading to meet other possibly broken ghouls Carol brought into whatever scheme she had in mind. Of course, this mindset was primarily on Nikki's mind. After having been revealed what she was fed for months on end, she felt the urge to simply just let Lincoln do away with her. After all, what was left for her? Where she came from, a kid going missing wasn't uncommon; a runway they'd call her. Maybe that was why Carol took her. Her folks might've been looking for her, but at this point, they'd probably give up. Wouldn't they? She didn't know, and she probably never would if she remained in this bunker.

Approaching what was clearly labeled with dried blood splatters as the dorms, both Lincoln and Nikki felt queasy. Both of them could pick up the scents of ghouls, three to be exact. Waiting on the other side of the slide doors were three more of their kin, possibly broken and halfway insane thanks to Carol's tests. But, they weren't going to find out standing where they were. Inhaling deeply, gathering courage, Lincoln walked forward, the doors to the room slid open as he entered.

Greeting him was a sight that would stay with him for a good while; two ghouls sitting side by side, holding one another. The third was standing to the side, their mind elsewhere. The one on the right had six arms, skin as dark as night, and eyes pure crimson. There were no pupils, all he saw was crimson. Two elongated fangs on her bottom jaw gave off a threatening first glance, however, the sight of her crying was anything but threatening. Not to mention, her short ashen hair reminded him of Lori, for some strange reason. The one on the left had four arms, and like Nikki, had only the upper half of her body still human, the bottom was resembling that of a spider; a black widow, if you would. She too had pupil-less crimson eyes, though, she had six, two normal ones with four smaller atop the two. Her mouth was hinged, four mandibles, with two fangs on her upper jaw. And lastly, it was the third that truly caught his undivided attention. Her hair was a similar shade of white as the one on the right, though, hers was long and braided. Not for her Ghoul form, but for the fact that he knew her. He recognized her.

"Maggie?" As soon as he uttered her voice, her eyes widened as her head snapped towards his direction. It was then that he saw her Ghoul form; the left half of her body was still human, but the right was seemingly rotting, almost like a corpse. Once her eyes fell on him, her human half still with its normal color, but the corpse side was milky white with the pupil a pale sky blue.

"Lincoln?" Her voice uttered in disbelief, she approached cautiously. She knew him, or rather, she knew his sister. How long had it been? Couldn't have been too long, he looked the same as the last time she saw him. Her hands reached out, though they shook in fear that he was merely an illusion, another trick of their captor. However, once her palms cupped his cheeks, an overwhelming sense of emotions welled is in her. This Maggie was not what he expected, the one Lincoln remembers was a girl who showed little to no emotion. This one has an ever-flowing stream run down her cheeks. Without warning, she grabbed hold of him and brought him into a tight embrace.

How could she not? He was perhaps the only familiar thing she'd seen since arriving here. Her family? Who knew where they were? All she remembered was that they were all taken, placed in here, and soon after Carol made her breakout, what little survived the blast became toys for the blonde witch. It came down to just three ghouls remaining, though, it appeared as if another two were either added recently or kept secret until now.

Lincoln's returned the embrace, overcome with joy at seeing a familiar face, but almost quickly he'd frowned at realizing what occurred down here. If Maggie was down here, no doubt she had succumbed to the witch's treatment.

"L-l-Lincoln?" Another familiar voice caught his eye. As his eyes glanced to the source, his breath hitched at seeing his classmate. Someone he and many others believed to have been on a vacation with her family overseas. But, seeing her here, in the form that she was, broke his heart. The anger at how far reaching Carol's testing had become had boiled over.

"Jordan?" He had hoped the familiar braid and face was simply a coincidence, however, as it became all the more clear; Jordan and Maggie were both ghouls. Though, the third one eluded him. In a sense she almost looked like a smaller version of Lori, and yet...

"W-w-what are you doing here?" Girl Jordan asked as she'd broken from her embrace with the other Ghoul, approaching the still human form of her classmate. She recoiled for a moment, believing he was brought here to endure what she and the other three had endured.

"Same as you." Nikki interrupted, slithering closer to the group, or rather, staying close to Lincoln. "Brought here by a psychotic bitch, tortured and starved for days on end, and now here we are...the result of whatever experiment she had in mind."

' _Oh dearies~'_ and there it was, the voice that was the cause of endless screaming, sleepless nights, and never ending nightmares. The six-armed Ghoul jumped up, falling out of her seat and crawling towards Jordan, whimpering all the way. The arachnid ghoul welcomed the frightened one with open arms, though; she too was put off by the Carol's overly gleeful tone. _'Silly little defects. This is not the end, far from it.'_ A blast door above them opened from the second floor of the dormitory. All eyes, minus those of the six-armed Ghoul, were now focused on the opening doors.

At the sound of humming, that all too familiar voice, it forced the six-armed girl to bury her head against Jordan's chest, both Lincoln and Nikki stood at ready, with Maggie frozen in fear, unsure of what to do. And there she appeared, the bane of their existence; Carol. Though, she had reformed into her full Ghoul state, or what appeared to be so. Two her teeth clicking to the tune of her voice, blackened veins marked across every inch of her body, with her skin a milky grey color as she glanced towards her test subjects with a satisfied grin. Her claws tapping rhythmically against the metal rail as her voice echoed in the dorms.

" **I had strings, but now I'm free...there are no strings on me..."**

 **And with that comes another chapter, we really hope you guys enjoy this one, it's been pretty fun writing these chapters, especially with what we have planned for the future of this story. Also, before anyone asks, yes, the ghouls found in the Carol's little base are all defects, and that'll be explained later on. Its gonna be considerably less dark in the next few chapters. until next time. Ciao.**


	8. Assignment

" **I had strings, but now I'm free...there are no strings on me..."**

The way in which her voice echoed in the dorms caused a chill to run up the youngling's backs. Carol was frightening enough on her own, but for her to so easily have them shiver just at the sound of her voice; a clear indication of who she was couldn't be much clearer. She was a sociopath, or at least played the part extremely well. From the way Jordan both glared and shook in the mere presence of the witch, to the fact that the ghouling She held on to refused to even look at Carol, what she did here, to them; the devil itself would admire her work. Maggie stood closely behind Lincoln, as did Nikki, though only the latter seemed eager for a fight. Her tail rattled, earning an almost innocent giggle from the witch herself.

Watching the little ones huddle together, seeing the defects cower behind the only successful subject was, in a way, fitting, in Carol's eyes. The weak always did hide behind the strong. Though, whether or not Lincoln could face off against the Zodiacs, the Melodies, or the other sociopathic ghouls out West was entirely up to him now. With what she'd learned, with the instruments the humans so generously left for her down here, Carol could've easily augmented him, make him stronger without all the hassle. But, this wasn't simply over creating the best faster, Lincoln was to be her magnum opus, or, at the very least, the beginning of what would be the next generation of ghouls. Her ghouls.

She tapped the metal railings rhythmically, humming the same song over and over. She'd done it on many occasions; the tests, the surgeries, augmentations...the feedings. Hearing this tune echoing in these halls, it was the equivalent of a child's lullaby in an abandoned hospital. Only in here, the creatures meant to create nightmares were subject to their own terror in the form of a sadistic teenage girl.

As much as she enjoyed seeing them shiver, she needed them, or rather; she needed Lincoln to understand what it was he'd be dealing with. The others were more or less cannon fodder, their abilities would come in handy, maybe, but defects were of little concern to her.

"Zodiacs..." Carol cut her song, glancing downwards at the ghoulings. At her Ghouls. "...when Constellation formed, its intention was to be a beacon for our kind. A home for those without, a family when humans eventually rejected us." She paced back and forth, her eyes staring ever-forward. There was a moment of shock for the ghouls below, as they saw, for the first time and perhaps the last; Carol was stoic. "And the Zodiacs, the strongest of the Ghouls...they were meant to be the vision; the future. We were meant to fight the battles our weaker kin couldn't, guide the younglings..." her voice trailed, her head lowered as a faint chuckled escaped her lips. "Younglings..." Carol stayed on that particular word, her smiled seemingly returned as she turned her gaze back to the little ones below. "Did you know, if I were to infect ten random humans, the average odds of a successful infection are three out of ten, four with any luck?" Her head lowered again as she leaned against the railing. "What am I saying, of course you don't? How could you know? Still, that's an uncomfortably low statistic. Especially when you take into account that out of that percentage, only one out of ten die. The rest become feral." The weight of her words came down on the young ones, more so hearing that out of every ten infected, they were one of the lucky three that survived. But that also left them with the unnerving truth; all the ferals down here were ghouls that never regained their sanity. And they could still so easily become like them. "Lincoln..." the ashen haired boy's head had never sprung up so fast. His eyes were locked with Carol's as she smiled at him, almost as if entranced by him. Odd, ordinarily it probably would've been the other way around. "As of today, this little lot will be in your hands. Take care of them now, it's hard for mommy to make more so don't break them so quickly." She purred, her claw dragging along the rail, producing a faint eerie metallic cry. "But I'll let you all know now; the reason all of you are here, all of this is happening because of this." Her claw held high showcased a small vial with nearly blackened liquid. Small, it was, but alive it appeared. For her hand was still, but the liquid was ever moving. "This...is the primordial's blood." Lincoln's interest was caught, though, the girl's appeared confused. "Whatever his title, or his little cult claims, he wasn't the first Ghoul. But, he is the closest to a pure-blooded Ghoul." She remarked with glee, her fingers played with the vial, the liquid inside shifted. An uneasy feeling was shared amongst the ghoulings the more they watched the blood move about. "There is only one other like the primordial, and you five are going to lure her to me. That is your assignment." She retrieved a remote from...somewhere, with a few audible clicks, the room darkened and a projected to their left laminated a screen to the right. The image of a group of ghouls appeared, almost like a physical photograph, cut out from a much larger piece. "Conveniently, her and her ilk were in the same shot so explaining your mission will be all the more easier." Another click of the button and a close up of one of the ghouls came up, this one had long white hair, similar features to that of the primordial, but in addition to her appearance, the ghoulings took notice of left eye being pitch black, whilst her right was with a milky white pupil. "Dearies, allow me to introduce; Corduroy, the leader of Fantasia...and the primordial's older sister." The look of shock was evident in Lincoln's face, Taurus had told him of Constellation's leader, but never that he had an older sibling. Being the leader, and as the name suggested, he assumed there was none before the primordial. His eyes were fixed on this woman, this Ghoul now proclaimed to have come before the primordial. More and more questions began piling up, none in favor of Constellation. Lincoln wasn't an idiot; he knew there were somethings Taurus would not share, some secrets that were better left for a select few to only know.

The screen changed, this time to the other ghouls with her, five in total. "And these are her followers; the Melodies. All of them loyal, even to their dying breath." She remembered fondly, dissecting one, and dismembering another. The latter was her favorite; she took her sweet time with each piece she cut off. "Only three are currently active." The image changed again, with two of the ghoul's face marked out with an X for each face. The three remaining were expected to be divulged upon, however Carol chose instead to move on. "And that's where you kiddies come in. Corduroy won't ignore that fact that a new Ghoul has appeared in Royal Woods. No doubt she'll send a scout to search for little Linky." The ashen haired boy glanced off to the side, predicting what it was that he and the other ghouls here would be doing. It didn't take a genius to guess, and Carol made no attempts to come off subtle with her intentions. "Your first job is simple; locate and capture the scout. That'll draw her out; she won't let one of her own be held captive."

A hand was raised, prompting a mild grin from Carol. "Why should we do this? What do WE gain from this?" Lincoln asked, he and Nikki being the only two to stand against the sadistic witch. Her smile never faded, especially with the little bombshell she was about to drop on them.

"Because there's a chance I can make you human again." And like that, with the fear subsiding, the little ones looked to Carol with eyes of longing; the feeling of being human again, to finally be rid of these cravings and hideous forms was a shared goal. Though, for Lincoln, he was still as human in terms of appearance, but the cravings and voice in his head were things he could live without.

Seeing the now eager look in their eyes, Carol's grin widened. "I'm counting on you." And with that, she turned to leave, but just as she was to exit, she turned her head back for one last word. "Get some sleep Linky, I'm sending you back up top soon, pick one of the defects to take with you. And whoever he takes, you'd best protect my Linky. Or else~" Her voice echoed as she disappeared back into the darkness.

" _I had strings but now I'm free, there are no strings on me_ ~" that song, the girl's hated it. Whenever Carol sung it, it indicated one of two things; she was in a good mood, or she needed an outlet. Of course, it could've been both. They remained still as her voice grew faint; quickly easing their uneasiness was the closing of the blast doors, cutting off the echoing chant.

While thankful that they could no longer hear the chilling song echo in the dorms, it seemed that now that their first assignment was handed to them, and having now been introduced after being kept in solitary for quite some time, the ghoulings opted to retreat to a nice quiet slumber. The dorms held a plethora of rooms, with only one large enough to house the five in one room. With what was left behind the younglings gathered a hefty amount of blankets and pillows, the majority going to Jordan. Beside her was the six armed girl, already fast asleep.

Nikki settled near a corner, coiled in her tail was the snake-girl as she nestled in the small blankets that barely managed to cover her. Her eyes fixated on Lincoln and the walking corpse, as she so vaguely out it. The two had been conversing for what seemed like hours, something about a birthday and mimes. They'd admitted to have met a couple times before, but never having spent too much time due to their own interests. In a way, their interests aligned now; the pursuit to be human again. But how would that work? Their bodies were twisted and reshaped into something akin to abominations, how the witch would exactly undo what she'd done was a question that plagued, not only Nikki, but the others as well. They knew very well this promise might be an empty one, but considering what Carol could do, there was still a spark of hope. Though, the small group was unsure whether the woman would deliver on her promises should they be real. But then, where else would they go? These other factions wouldn't take them in, judging from the slides they all held up human forms to blend in with society. The ghoulings didn't know how. They'd only be burdens to these factions.

"So that's pretty much it. I told my folks I was spending the night at a friend's...next thing I know, I'm down here, chained up. Grouped up with a bunch of other lab rats, and one by one, they all went nuts and died...I was the only survivor..." Maggie lamented, remembering her initial arrival. "Twenty-eight people...and I'm the only Ghoul that didn't break..." she'd crossed her arms, her head hung low at the remembering of her fellow captives, one by one, falling to feralism. Few retained conscious, even fewer survived Carol's experiments. "And even after all that, she still calls us defects." There was a faint hint of jealousy in her tone, overshadowed by her hatred towards the witch.

"She keeps using that word, but it might mean something else for her than it does to us." Lincoln commented, lying against Maggie's stomach as she lay comfortably in a small bed of pillows.

In reality, nearly the entirety of the room's floor was covered in pillows, allowing the ghouls well-stocked mounds for each to lay and rest. Of course, the larger mounds were reserved for Jordan and Nikki. The room itself wasn't large, small enough that they could hear one another speak, even in whispers. Both Nikki and Jordan's attentions turned to Lincoln as he made his observation known.

"What makes you say that?" Nikki asked.

Lincoln's head remained on Maggie, his eyes locked unto the ceiling. "Call it a guess at this point, but I can't really see why she'd call you four defects, from what I've seen; you fit the mold of Ghoul pretty well. If anything, I'm the defect. I can't even revert to my Ghoul form, let alone use my own powers." He added.

Speaking of all of it as if it were common knowledge.

"But, don't all ghouls start out in their combat form?" Jordan chimed in, though; her usage of the Ghoul form as 'combat form' was new to Lincoln, perhaps something Carol came up with herself.

"According to the witch, that's only through the infection state. Once we regain consciousness, we return to our human forms...but..." Maggie halted; the glaring truth was that she and the other three did not revert to their human forms after the infection state. "Guess that's one reason we're called defects."

The room had fallen into an awkward silence as the gathering of ghoulings had nothing much else to say to one another. Or rather, neither knew what else to say in this situation. They could discuss this further, discuss what was it that made them defects in the eyes of the witch, and even if they were, why would she keep them? A defect wasn't exactly considered useful, was it? Regardless. The four remained silent for a moment more before Lincoln's curiosity peeked. "By the way, what are your abilities?" His eyes glanced around the room to the three girls.

They were hesitant before Nikki stood up first. Without warning her body had shifted in color before eventually blending in with her surroundings. The sound of her slithering body gave way to the fact that even while moving she'd remain camouflaged. And solely for the fact that she was careful and slick enough to not disturb the pillows around her gave room for awe. Only reappearing when her tail was revealed to be wrapped around Lincoln as she pulled him into her coil. "Hey." She casually greeted the ashen-haired boy. With a somewhat embarrassed grin he waved back.

"Impressive." Maggie commented, sarcastically. "Snake-girl can play peek-a-boo like a champ. Now give him back." Although Maggie was the eldest, Nikki was defiant, if nothing else. Particularly when she hissed at the goth for attempting to take the ashen haired boy away. In the hopes of avoiding a brawl between these two and awaking the slumbering Ghoul, Jordan went next.

Slings of silk-like web were slung across the room and caught hold of both Maggie and Nikki's mouths, preventing any sound from escaping. An obvious ability considering her appearance. Essentially, the two were muzzled, and the substance stuck tightly as their attempts to remove the web were in vain. "Mine is pretty self-explanatory." Jordan whispered. Carefully, she rose up and walked over to the two ghoulings, using her claws to gently cut the webs, allowing them to speak freely. Though, she emphasized greatly the need to keep their tones low.

As the attention was now focused on Maggie, the goth shifted nervously before reaching towards her milky white eye, and slowly ripping it from its socket. The act alone, while not as messy as one would think, still left quite the impression on those watching.

An uneasy snapping and twisting of skin was what became of the wound as it, on its own, seemingly healed at a hastened rate. Under just a few seconds, her lid opened, and a new milky white eye took its place in the empty socket. "I'm able to regenerate any limb and organ, any piece of me, much faster than any Ghoul should be. And...Carol took advantage of that...it's kinda why my face and arm are like this." She gestured to her aforementioned burnt skin, the scars stretching to her neck to her shoulder. The ghoulings showed no surprise, but there was sympathy. Nikki and Jordan had seen their fellow prisoners be ripped apart, worse those who went insane from isolation. But, no matter the tests or torture Carol inflicted, their bodies healed. Their minds never would, but their bodies would always heal. And yet, the witch seemingly pushed this girl's abilities to the point that her scars wouldn't heal anymore.

There was a solemn moment of silence, allowing Maggie's story to settle in. Nikki and Jordan were vaguely affected; having lived through most of the witch's sadistic experimentations had that effect. Though, only Lincoln was the one with widened eyes. This goth girl, who just showed she could pull out her own eye, regenerate it in a span of seconds, was tortured to the point that a portion of her face was forever scarred. Taking a moment to think on it, it made sense why Carol did what she did, and it wasn't the obvious experimenting and data collecting she pursued. Putting it simply; Carol was making her mark. At least, that was Lincoln's theory, considering the four ghouls here; Maggie was the only one who appeared to be allowed to retain her human form. Which meant; should the goth find a way to escape, she could easily disappear. However, Carol made sure those ideas were squandered; nearly permanently. Even if she could escape and attempt to blend in, Maggie's scars, while not uncommon, still made her stand out.

But then…

A thought came to Lincoln as he glanced towards the goth girl. "Wait, Carol called you a defect, right?"

Maggie nodded.

"And she calls you that because you didn't revert to your human forms?"

"I don't think that's the sole reason." She clarified. "There exists the possibility that we might be able to revert to human forms. We just don't know how." She then gestured to herself. "Carol reverted my body back to that of a human's for her testing…but when my scars didn't heal she said she had no use for me anymore. She left me like this…" and there again was another awkward silence. Adding to the silence was a shared feeling of anger aimed towards the witch.

"So..." Nikki's voice brought Lincoln back to reality as his attention was now on the snake girl, whilst he suddenly found himself on Maggie's arms again. "You really can't use your ability?" The attentions of those awake were now focused on the ashen-haired boy.

Sheepishly, Lincoln rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I don't even know what my abilities are." This earned faint surprised looks from the girls. "But, Taurus said finding out what my abilities were depended on what I 'experienced' during my transformation."

"Taurus?" Jordan asked, her eyebrow rose at the unknown name.

"Another Ghoul, from a different faction."

"You've met the other factions?" Nikki's tone indicated a faint sense of enthusiasm.

"Just Constellation, made friends with three of their members. Never met their leader. I was supposed to, but...didn't get the chance." Lincoln began remembering what led to Carol's little visit. His encounter with Leni suddenly took precedent as fear had now taken hold in his heart. Was his family safe? Was Lynn ok? Haiku made sure to tend to the jock's wounds, but he began fearing what the primordial would decide on, considering it would be rather difficult to contain the information with the Loud household.

Still, he couldn't deny one thing, being away from them, even for so little time, made him miss his family. Especially Leni, perhaps the only sibling to consistently be at his door in the middle of the night with the intention of seeking to mend the rift between them.

' _Why...?'_

His eyes snapped open, widely. That voice again. "oh no..." He whispered to himself.

' _Why do you miss them?' It spoke for far longer than it did before, earning a chilling crawl tingling his spine. 'They treat you like dirt...they hurt you...they abuse you...let me take over...I'm willing…to kill…everyone-'_ the voice seemed to be fighting for control, with each pause it seemingly rasped for air as it attempted to gain ground.

"Lincoln!?" The boy felt himself being shaken back and forth, his eyes settled on the culprit; Maggie had shaken him quite a bit, although, when he looked to the others, both Nikki and Jordan were equally frightened by something. Given what came after that voice spoke to him, he could only imagine what scared these ghoulings. Glancing to Maggie, he noticed she still held on to his shoulders firmly. And for this one moment, he saw his reflection in her eyes; his left sclera had been tinted black, his pupil's shade radiated an amber tone. What scared him most of all, was when he stared at his eye, it felt as if it was staring back. In one millisecond, it narrowed, glaring at him.

He recoiled, threw himself backwards with a sudden yelp. Nikki reached out with her tail and caught him before he hit the ground. The three crowded around him, their expressions were now a collection of worry as they gazed at the receding tint of black in his eyes, leaving Lincoln control of the left half of his face again.

"Lincoln, you ok?" Jordan asked, lowering to his level as he sat up.

"I…I don't know." He responded.

"What was that just now?" Nikki spoke up, asking what perhaps what was a shared question the three had. But again, Lincoln's response was the same. He didn't know.

Without so much as a warning, Lincoln arose and walked out, the others would've followed had the doors not locked upon shutting from the ashen boy's exit. Though, he didn't seem to notice or care, his attention was focused on finding out what that voice was? He only ever heard it when thinking of his family and the statement it just made had him fearing for his mental state because…that was how he felt.

Deep down, he felt at ease with the thought of simply slaughtering all who caused him pain. But, there was guilt that stayed his hand. Morality still had a hold on him, and his love for his family was still lingering…however, those feelings were quickly being overshadowed in the small moments the voice decided to make itself known. The bloodlust, the rage, the hatred; it all felt so right when he heard her voice.

He blinked.

Stopping in his tracks, he wondered why it was he referred to the voice as 'she'. Its tone was feminine, but at times he could've sworn he heard his own voice echoing with hers. As his mind raced with questions and fears, his nose twitched at the arrival of an unwanted individual. He threw a glare at Carol as she emerged from the darkened hallway. Her sickening grin was ever present.

"Well, well. There's more to you than I thought." she paced slowly to him, almost cautiously, if he didn't know better. All the while he remained still, his right eye twitching at the mere sight of her. A brew of fear and malice stirred within him. An odd combination, but one such he was living through. His anger aimed towards this particular who claimed ownership of him whilst his fear kept him from doing anything stupid. Lost in thought, he failed to notice how close Carol had gotten to him. When he did, he found her mere inches away from his face. "Boo." She booped his nose just before he recoiled backwards, stumbling unto the cold hard floor.

As he winced at the pain of falling on the cold hard floor, Carol kneeled to his level, her eyes focused solely on his. Lincoln's eyes drifted anywhere else but at her.

"What's wrong, Lincoln?" god did she sound genuinely concerned, almost convincingly. But he remained firm, his eyes focused elsewhere. "Look at me, Lincy." His eyes snapped wide open; he turned to face the witch, only to come face to face with his older sister, Leni. She smiled at him with that same old grin she gave to the world. Fear and longing took root in his mind. "Good, I finally got your attention." Came Carol's voice, though her body remained as it was, earning a scowl from the boy. An expression that quickly vanished once he felt a tightening grip on his throat, squeezing tightly as to restrict any air flow. Again, without warning she tossed his body to the side, embedding him roughly into the side of the wall. "I changed my mind Lincy…" Carol hummed, taking her sweet time as each step she took echoed. Once stopping directly in front of the boy, she grabbed a handful of his hair, forcing his head to jerk up whilst she giggled at the blood beginning to flood from his head wound. "You're not leaving this place until I think you've displayed your powers to me." She released his head, the sounds of flesh reshaping drowned his ears as he faintly glanced up, catching a glimpse of Carol as a ghoul. Her grin widened further than any thought physically possible. "But before that, let's see if we can find out what, if any, powers you possess."

 **Hey guys, I just wanted to say thanks for waiting, and I know some of you wanna read about Lincoln's powers. I guarantee a portion will be revealed next chapter, but the extent will be explored over time. There'll be a buildup before he eventually conjures them. In any case, I hope you enjoyed, and if you're waiting for the Lincoln x Haiku moments, they'll come, soon.**

 **If this chapter feels uneventful…consider it filler or lore-based. The next will have the fighting and lighter moments. Until then, Ciao~**


	9. Two Minds

After having tried to pry the doors open, with no avail, the girls chose to take a quick breather before giving it another go. That was, until a screen in their room flickered to life, revealing the ashen haired boy in an arena with Carol. The two had yet to start, but if they did, no doubt the witch would not go easy on him, Maggie knew better than anyone. Which is what drove her to forgo rest and attempt once more to pry the doors open. And when she couldn't, she resulted to pounding against the steel door, knowing full well she couldn't break it down. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to at least try. In the end, she ended up slamming against the door too hard, hissing in pain she slid down, her head hung low as she could now only hear the exchange between Carol and Lincoln.

' _Now then, show me what you can do, Lincy~.'_ She heard from the screen. Her teeth grit tightly, Carol always did that, act happy and cheerful, friendly one could even say, but it was all a facade. She remembered the spars she had to go through with the witch, the wounds she would inflict just to see her healing abilities work to their fullest extent. As she nursed her bruised shoulder, which would heal within a few seconds, she also glanced to her burned arm. The burning sensation she felt, the lingering pain that came with these scars; she wondered how much time had passed. How long did she have these scars? How long was she missing? Did her parents still care at this point? She had yet to come to terms with how she looked, even glancing at her reflection made her break down in tears. And now, as if to further torture the girls, they had to watch one of their own, one of the few of the witch's successful experiments, prepare for a torture they knew all too well.

Knowing Carol, she wouldn't stop until she broke the ashen boy if he didn't meet her expectations. The worst of all of this; if he was deemed a defect, there wasn't exactly a good track record with the witch and her temper towards failed Ghoul subjects. Those still alive were only breathing because...and it was at this point that the girls were beginning to wonder why it was they were left alive.

All the while, the six-armed Ghoul began to awaken, with Jordan trying to ease her back to sleep, only for Carol's giggling to snap the little one wide awake. Her head rose up without missing a heartbeat, her eyes focused on the screen where her 'leader' was apparently about to go toe to toe against the witch. Like the others, she knew what would come of this; the boy would be screaming, writhing in pain as the witch would twist and break him both physically and mentally.

"Layla..."the six-armed Ghoul turned to Jordan, who was now kneeling beside her, her arms wrapped around the young ghouling whilst trying to keep her attention away from the screen. "Don't look sweetie." Jordan's tone towards the little one was that of caring, maternal one could say. But, even with her head turned, Layla stilled kept an eye on the screen. Getting a better look at the team leader, she noticed something of an odd coincidence; Lincoln looked almost like a younger version of her parents. In a sense, she assumed the white hair was due to his transformation, but even then, she couldn't help but feel reminded of her father and mother when she saw him. In a way, it made her worry for him, more so that she couldn't bear to see a Ghoul go insane. Again.

 **-Training Arena-**

Carol made no stance, she just stood there smiling, unnerving Lincoln to a great degree. He wasn't any different, but to his credit, he at least positioned himself to dodge any oncoming attack. Given his little scuffles with his sisters, a hand-to-hand approach would be well for him. He could take a punch, but knowing Carol, he'd be receiving more than just a punch. And so, he kept himself at a distance, at the ready, waiting for-

"Too slow~" And Without even getting a chance to blink an eye, Carol had appeared next to him, side-kicking him hard enough that he crashed against the metal walls, visibly denting the damned things, all the while coughing up blood. Only this time, he found the color to be a darkish red, similar to the one that infected him. This caught the witch's attention, her smile wavering as she remembered the still human-like blood he displayed when his jock of a sister punched him. This little detail would've been documented and further studied, if she had more time. But, that was a luxury at this point. "You can attack now, Lincy." She called out, but the boy was too busy gathering himself. Staggering as he attempted to stand, she took great pleasure in watching Lincoln stumble. The force of the attack was enough to kill a human, the boy assumed, considering her could've sworn he felt more than a couple of bones dislodge and crack. Luckily enough, his enhanced healing fixed those little dents right up. Although, given what occurred with Maggie, Carol would push him to the point that she'd eventually leave a mark on him. One even his natural body couldn't heal. And so, he took the initiative this time. Taking a sharpened piece of metal plating, he jogged a few steps before turning to an all-out sprint. Though, before being able to land a single punch, Carol dodged his feeble attempt at an attack, kicking him to the side instead, watching his body roll across the floor was anything but pleasing to her. Though, she didn't show it immediately, after all, this was simply a practice match. Given the boy had no training in terms of combat; she didn't expect him to beat her, or even come close. Granted, only one of Corduroy's Ghouls was with training, but she highly doubted the woman would send a soldier on a scout mission. So, that left the newly acquired Ghoul, with a small team of defects, on a capture run. Still, it didn't mean she couldn't have Lincoln prepared for whatever came his way.

Case in point, she used this moment not only to discover what his powers were, but to as well have him ready for the inevitable. The primordial wasn't going to allow her, or any of her experiments off with another warning.

Although, Lincoln wasn't exactly making this easy. His attacks were predictable, slow, with little or no effort. In other words; she was fighting a human. And it irritated her. He was supposed to have tapped into his abilities as a Ghoul. She knew he could sprint faster, his strength would've been abnormal for one as small as him, and his ferocity should've at least matched that of primal beast. And yet, he held back. This would only further infuriate her as he made no effort to use his newfound instincts. In his next attack, where he attempted to side kick her, she caught his foot with little effort. Holding him in place, her smile faded, replaced with a mild show of irritation, causing the boy's blood to run cold. She raised her free arm up, and brought it down on his leg, dislocating the bones from the knee. The sound of cracking bone and ripping flesh, from the pieces of bone piercing through his skin, echoed in the hollowed arena.

His screams of pain caused the ghoulings to wince; Nikki flinched for a moment, turning away from the screen before eventually finding the courage to gaze again. Jordan had covered Layla's eyes just before Carol delivered her crippling blow, and with her added appendages she was also able to cover the little one's ears. Though, she could only shut her eyes and listen to Lincoln's blood curdling screams. And Maggie...she refused to watch. With tears streaming down her cheeks and an already bruised shoulder she still attempted to either break down the door, or at the very least pry it open. Sadly, her attempts were all in vain. But her eyes remained anywhere but to the screen. She couldn't look. She wouldn't. But she wouldn't sit idly by and let it happen without trying to stop it.

All the while, Carol lifted the boy by his injured leg, and tossed him aside, sending him sliding across the floors, painting the metal with his blood, and stoping only when his body slammed against the wall.

The overwhelming pain and fatigue had started to settle in, Lincoln's entire body begged him to lay limp, but he could feel his leg already beginning to heal itself. The witch wouldn't wait for him to fully recover, and his injured limb wouldn't fully heal for quite some time either. Instead, Lincoln tried sitting up, only to have the witch grab his arm and pull him up, violently. Carol's grin had completely vanished, replaced by an expression one could only assume was one of an unimpressed mother.

"Why are you making this difficult, Lincy?" And yet, she still sounded so sincere. "I need my favorite to be at his best." She proclaimed with the tightening of her grip on his wrist. "Was I wrong, are you also a defect?" Her tone shifted, as if daring him to respond. Though, with little care as to whether or not her actions were fair, she tightened her grip once more, eventually, and swiftly, fixed a combination of crush and twist to her hold. Crushing Lincoln's bones to the point of splintering them, whilst twisting the resulting injury to further amplify the 'lesson'.

Once more, Lincoln's cries echoed in the arena, with Carol to wonder for a brief moment if she had made a mistake with this one. She intended to use them, the defects and her successful experiments; this child was to be the precursor for whatever Ghoul was to come next. However, even she had begun having doubts.

"That's quite a shame. I had high hopes for you…" She leaned over, uncomfortably close to Lincoln's face. "Can you keep going?" her grin had returned. She was in no way actually going to relinquish the plans she had for him; the question was simply a means to give the ghoul a sense of comfort, believing he would be able to stop the pain.

Lincoln's cries had become raspy, as he had been writhing in agony for far longer than expected. His eyes were near rolling back, foam began forming from his mouth. From the look of things, it almost seemed as if he was near fainting. However, it didn't appear as if the witch was ready to let up. She rose up her hand, reforming it into a mantis-like pincer, gazing down upon Lincoln with a mildly disappointed expression. "Hmm, maybe Leni will give a better result. That or she'll just be a tasty snack." However, as the pincer came down, Carol felt an ominous aura emit from the boy. Her pincer stopped dead in its tracks, her hands trembled. She saw nothing change, the boy made no abnormal sound, but all of her instincts were screaming at her to gain distance.

But she didn't. And for that, she was treated to hearing a faint, feminine giggle, just before Lincoln's body charged at her again, this time, it moved faster and with much more ferocity. There was only one strike, but it was more than enough to send Carol across the arena, stopping herself just before being embedded into the wall. As she shifted her attention back to Lincoln, she noticed him no longer a few feet away, but rather mere inches from her face as he grabbed her head, and violently slammed her repeatedly against the iron walls. With each bang, Carol's face was creating deeper dents, and the injuries she sustained were becoming worrisome as the Ghoul's flesh was stripped to the bone, and Lincoln had no intention of stopping. Each time he swung a fist, the onlookers would assume Carol would block it, she did not. His strikes were barbaric, desperate even. Lincoln was desperate to survive this ordeal, and should he actually kill the witch at this moment, he'd be saving more than just his own life.

Although, judging from the look on her face; she was enjoying it. Perhaps not how she was currently being battered, but rather, her attempt to push the boy was only done by a meager amount of torture. With this little revelation, a faint grin broke across her lips.

"The fuck are you smiling for?" Carol's head snapped to Lincoln, her grin had disappeared at the sight of the young ghoul. The boy's voice had shifted completely to that of a girl's, and when he spoke it was followed by an eerie echo. The physical change appeared to be his eyes as they both had shifted to a black sclera, and amber pupils. His teeth had sharpened, grinning widely, pupils in different sizes as there was a mere moment of hysteric laughter from the changing ghoul.

Lincoln hunched over, slithering lumps appeared on his back, the sounds of shifting flesh and twisting bones, sounds associated with a ghoul's transformation. Though, rather than the boy's body reshaping, from his back burst forth six tentacles. The two lower tendrils slammed against the floor, lifting the boy's body from the ground. The tips of the other four split to reveal jagged teeth from within, possibly acting as extended mouths to the ashen-haired boy.

"Finally…I get my day in the sun…" That voice, the one that not only frightened those who heard it, but caused shivers to roll up her spine as Carol watched what she believed was Lincoln fading into something else. And where some would see this as troubling or worrisome, she was grinning with glee. This form of ghoul infection was nothing like what she was accustomed to seeing. She had essentially, and unintentionally, created something new. Oh how she couldn't wait to study him in the days to come. Though, upon noticing her ecstatic expression, what few assumed was Lincoln, grinned right back at her. "And why are you smiling?" It was then that the feminine voice was no longer accompanied by an echo. "Lincy might not be willing to go all out…but I will."

Carol's spine shivered with anticipation, so many assumptions and questions arose from the way this thing separated itself from the ashen-haired boy. Almost as if by some circumstance there were now two sentient minds within the boy's head; Lincoln himself, and a new being possibly conjured up by the infection. Or, and this was perhaps her favorite of the numerous hypothesis she came up with; this was but a fragment. The boy's mental statement had been pushed to the point that it fragmented to protect itself. However, this particular theory came with a rather irritating question; what caused Lincoln's mind to fragment, if this was the case?

"Oh, is that so?" Carol remarked, a glint of eagerness could be seen on her face. "And who might you be?" she decided to play along.

Though, this newcomer seemed less eager to speak as one of her tentacles wrapped around Carol's leg, swung the witch in circles just before slamming her body repeatedly against the metal floor and ceiling. After a rather long and rage induced fit, another tentacle wrapped around the witch's torso, and with one sickly twisting motion; it tore the ghoul in half. Deep blackish crimson blood stained the ground, as well as the apparent entrails seeping unto the floor.

"Who cares?" it muttered.

From within the dorm room, the girls watched in horror as the boy had ripped apart the cause of their fear, however, it was also a cause for concern as the young ghoul was reverting into something akin to a feral, and yet with a modicum of intelligence. Jordan couldn't believe what she'd been seeing, her classmate had, within seconds, tore the witch in half without even breaking a sweat. But, what bothered both her and Nikki was Carol's lack of response to the boy's shifting attitude. Maggie, on the other hand, recognized this little scenario. This wasn't over, far from it. And yet, all she could do now was to wait and hope that Lincoln, or whatever the hell was in control at the moment, would hold out for however long Carol deemed necessary. Speaking of which…

While the ghouling relished in its premature victory, it failed to notice the bits of gore and blood receding, reforming back into the witch's body, silently. It only took a few seconds before Carol was back on her own two feet. All the while, she grinned widely at Lincoln; he wasn't a defect after all, but rather, an anomaly she could work off of. "Impressive." She commented, earning a momentary surprised look from the ghouling before it took another battle-ready stance. "This was genuinely an interesting turn of events. However, my main interest at the moment is with Lincy, whoever you are, be gone from my sight."

The ghouling growled at the witch's request, a hissing sound was emitted from her tendrils as well as they too bared their jagged teeth at Carol. "That's not happening."

Almost with much greater speed than shown prior, Carol disappeared from sight, only to reappear not half a second later, mere inches away from the ghouling's face. "Did I stutter?" Carol asked, piercing the ghoul's stomach, hoisting it in the air for a moment before tossing it violently aside. Lincoln's body slammed against another wall, nothing too hard to kill him, but with just enough force to cause him to cough up blood. As the unknown ghoul attempted to regain their bearings, Carol griped the ghoulings head, and repeatedly slammed it against the floor, with each impact the ground began to crack, as did the boy's skull. One of the tentacles managed to shoot out and drive off the witch, which succeeded, if only momentarily. "You're stubborn, I'll give you that." she smirked. "But that only makes the idea of breaking you all the more fun. However…" again, without warning, Carol disappeared, only to reappear behind the boy. With a vice grip on his head, she leaned him back and placed her palm against his forehead. A faint glow denied any form of response from Lincoln, effectively knocking him out and allowing the witch to claim the victory. "I'm satisfied with what I've seen so far."

She spoke too soon.

With an almost eerily undetectably swift motion, Lincoln's arm had pierced her stomach. He stared blankly at her confused expression before muttering. "I'm not." It was still the known ghouling's voice. She jumped away, genuinely surprised and irritated it was taking longer to put down this subject. And without showing it, she was also rowing a tangent of fear of being outdone by this ghoul's power. As of this moment, she had tried to mimic what she assumed was his abilities, however, the tentacles appeared to be part of his anatomy. That was easy to understand, but this second mindset, this seemingly 'two souls stuck in one body' scenario was not something she was prepared for. It was fun at first, but it soon became apparent that, without some form of leverage Carol would have no way of keeping this thing under her thumb. And she knew for a fact that this ghoul fighting her wasn't Lincoln, the aura was all wrong. It was more twisted than the average ghoul, it felt primal, similarly to those of the ferals, and yet this one regained its consciousness.

The unknown began to giggle, tauntingly, just before being risen by her tentacles. "You've got some nerve…" her tone, she was taunting the witch. Carol could no longer hide her annoyance at this sudden turn of events. "He might be willing to submit to you, but I'm not that easy, honey." This act of defiance, it was getting to her, more that this ghoul's wounds had already healed, adding to it, it almost appeared as if they'd grown in height, their frames slimmer than normal. On top of Lincoln's body reshaping itself, his face shifted, resembling that of a mannequin, similar to Europa, however, this one had nothing to show, not eye socket, mouth slit, nostrils, ears…nothing. It was a completely blank slate, and yet she spoke so clearly.

Carol needed an angle, something to hold over this one like she had over Lincoln. "I'm assuming Lincoln no longer has a say in this? That _you_ are in control?"

The ghoul's lightened expression soured as it leaned forward. "That's right."

Carol grinned. "If that's the case, I'm sure _you_ won't mind me going back up top and having my fun with Lincoln's family then?"

"I don't care." With that hastily declared statement, both Carol, and the ghoulings watching were surprised. The ghoul creeped closer, their glare fixed solely on the witch. "That family is nothing more than a burden, Lincy is too attached. By killing them, you'd be doing be a favor. And even if you don't, if they get in my way, or threaten my existence I won't hesitate to put them all done like dogs. I fight for me, and no one else."

If there was one thing Carol couldn't deny, it was how much she agreed with this ghouling. The Loud family was a burden, holding back Lincoln's progress, and it didn't help that even after the way they treated him, he still chooses to protect them; placing them above his own wellbeing. Still, she preferred the pacified Lincoln, the one she could control. This one, she knew next to nothing about, and was sure would not submit to her anytime soon.

There was a fair moment of silence before the unknown began giggling again, tilting her head as the other tentacles hissed at Carol. "Well, doesn't matter anyway. Cause after I'm through with you here I'm going to-"

' _Disappear'_

The silence returned, if only momentary for what was to occur. Without warning, the ghouling dropped to her knees, clutching where her left eye should be. Carol could feel her aura spiking alongside another, as if two ghouls were fighting each other for dominance. And for all she knew, that just might be what was happening considering the sudden exchange she was having with herself.

"W-what…what are you doing? Can't you see I'm winning…?!" she flailed her arms and tendrils around, swatting at something, but at the same time at nothing. The echo in her voice had returned, and little by little the tentacles began to dissolve. "You idiot…you're gonna get us both killed!" She shouted again, following which was a blood curdling screech as the tint of black in her sclera had receded, and with it, Lincoln fell backwards not too long after her screaming came to a sudden halt. His body landed roughly against the hardened metal floor, his aura and smell both returned to normal, giving the witch, for the first time in a while, a chance to sigh in relief. This ghoul was far from winning if she thought all she needed to do to kill a ghoul was hack and slash enough times. But, Carol couldn't deny, she felt herself on edge for most of the time. She genuinely couldn't keep up for bits of the fight, and that ghoul meant her words when she disregarded Lincoln's family.

As she approached the seemingly passed out body, she was quick to examine the boy, the tension eased when she felt a pulse. For this one moment, she allowed herself to slump down beside him, her hand gently caressed his hair as a bountiful of scenarios and plans began formulating in her head. Two ghouls trapped in one body, now there was an experiment worth venturing into. And unbeknownst to Lincoln, she had plans for his family, or rather, a select few.

As for the call signs for this little batch of ghouls, while she had nothing for the ones still locked in their dorm, she had an interesting idea for Lincoln's rather 'unique' anatomical frame. Thinking on it, Carol grinned widely. Already imagining her little experiment wandering about Royal Woods, she couldn't help but feel giddy.

"Now…I just need a tux."


	10. The Hunt Begins

Cold, no, freezing. Adding to the sudden flurry of sensations flooding his sense, the ashen-haired boy arose from a rather damp spot. For a moment, he wondered if he was in a freezer, it wasn't until his eyes opened and he gazed around that he found himself standing in the middle of a forest. Lincoln shot up, breathing heavily, fearing that this was some illusion he cautiously glared around, searching for any sign that this was fabricated. He took a few steps in the empty forest, his steps echoed with the crunching of leaves. Without warning, memories of his fight against Carol resurfaced; the pain she inflicted came back in numbing aches. The memory of watching her twist and break his limbs for her enjoyment sent shudders across his body. But it was only when he attempted to warm himself from the cold that he noticed something, or rather, a few many things.

For one, he was taller than he remembered; either that or his eye sight needed adjusting seeing the ground farther down than it should be. And with his height came another noticeable feature; his limbs, they were stretched out, slim, as was his body. Oddly enough, the last thing he expected to find himself wearing, in the middle of the forest no less, was a tux. The sound of running water caught his attention. While he could not drink from it, he could gaze upon his reflection and determine what exactly had been done to his body.

As he approached, he felt a growing anxiety bubbling in his stomach; fear encompassed his thoughts as he could only imagine what hideous appearance his ghoul form had taken up. Peering his head over, he dared to look, and almost wished he hadn't, at a face that made him recoil in fear. He had no eyes, no mouth, no nostrils or ears. Basically, a mannequin is what he resembled, only with long, slim limbs and a clean tux. God did he resemble a certain urban legend at this point. The sounds of slithering and moist squirming brought his attention to six active appendages, each acting as if sentient, minds separated from their attached host, protruding from his back. As far as things went, Lincoln was only startled by them, but not deterred. He'd seen these, felt them actually as they tore through his back to emerge and defend their host during the skirmish with Carol.

But, by far what frightened him the most was when 'she' took over. The voice in his head, the thing haunting him, seemingly speaking through him; had taken over and fought Carol in his place. The entirety of the fight began playing out in his head, the screams, the taunting, the way in which Carol was ripped apart by the thing in his head. But he had to intervene, solely because of the way he felt upon gazing down at the witch's bloody gore; hunger. He wanted nothing more in that moment but to devour her fresh remains, sinking his teeth into her innards and devour all that she was, all that he hated. But he couldn't. Something in the back of his head kept nudging him away from such thoughts.

' _pathetic.'_

Lincoln's head shot every which way, only taking a few seconds for him to realize where the voice originated from, more so who it was that spoke to him. One of the tendrils shot to the front, it's length showed more prominence to the rest as a pair of teeth formed near the tip, the tip peeled, revealing a mouth of sorts, smiling at him.

"What are you?" It said nothing, but the way it slithered around; free of his control, unnerved him. Lincoln took a moment to realize what had become of his voice, he still heard himself but with it came an echo of several other voices, some of which he found eerily familiar.

The tendril's grin returned, squirming about as if displaying some form of glee. He couldn't describe it, but it almost felt as if the thing was taunting him. If it could speak he assumed it would only insult and berate him. And given a little more time perhaps he could've gotten something out of it, but as he was to speak his mind, the tendril's attention, as did the others next to it, darted to a single direction. A low guttural growl reverberated amongst one another.

Lincoln caught a quick whiff of the air around him, and indeed there was someone nearby. He bolted up from his spot, head turning every which way to assess what he would be dealing with. The smell was human, there was no mistaking it, but, there was something off about it. Or rather, he felt something lacking. As stealthily as he could the ghoul treaded through the forest, much to his relief his steps were eerily inaudible, allowing him to traverse without giving away his presence.

Growing closer to the smell, his hearing picked up on what he assumed were sniffles, small sobs, and whimpers. With the smell growing stronger, indicating how close he was getting, he kept caution in mind as he slithered behind a tree, peeking slowly to see the human. To his utter shock, he knew the human; she was crying in the middle of the forest floor, her head darted in every direction. She didn't appear to notice his presence; rather, it almost looked as if she were searching for something. Or perhaps someone?

She took a few steps north, but then she hesitated, turning to tread the south; only to hesitate again and remain in place. Lincoln shuddered, he smelled the fear in her, she was lost, and from the looks of things, she had no clue as to how to find her way home. Every instinct in his body was trembling, his tendrils were growling, not in anger; but with hunger. It made him feel sick, but it left him feeling famished. The despair and hopelessness in the atmosphere was tantalizing, and besides, she was lost in the forest; wasn't the first time someone went missing for good.

He slapped himself, regaining control as he peeked once more at the crying girl. He was tempted to walk away, there was a chance her family was around, but in the case they weren't…

In that moment, he smelled something else stalking closer; the only trait he could tell of this newcomer was the familiar scent of decay and malice; a ghoul, but he couldn't assess if it was feral. If it was the latter, Lincoln didn't even want to imagine the image that would follow. He needed to either stray the unknown away, or take the little one to safety, but therein lay a rather large problem; how was he to do that without frightening the child to death.

"A pity isn't it?"

Lincoln's senses picked up on the scent now being directly behind him, masked was the identity of this individual, but the mere sound of her voice gave her away; Carol. As Lincoln turned to face her, he noticed the blonde was in her ghoul form, stalking just as quietly as him towards behind the same tree, glancing towards the child openly crying on the ground.

"Believe it or not this happens quiet often, kids tend to hear noises, see strange things moving in the tree lines. But rather than be cautious, their curiosity gets the better of them; they wander, innocently, in search of adventure. Reality sets in not too long after, then they realize they're lost, alone, scared. So many riling emotions, all of which are enticing to a ghoul; an aroma none of us can sway from. A lost and scared child is a ripe target for a ghoul." As always, her manner of seeing humans as nothing more than food was of no surprise to Lincoln. However, the fact that this happens often was of greater concern to him. When his attention returned to the girl, he noticed movement in the trees, rustling branches, and shifting shrubs with indication of recent disturbance. "And everyone wants the reddest apple." Carol whispered, her face too close for comfort. Reacting on impulse Lincoln took a step towards the child, though, he was held back by a grinning Carol. "What do you think you're doing?" Her claws held tightly on to him, unwilling to allow him to wander off.

He tried once more to move towards the child, only for Carol to increase her grip. He heard a high pitched yelp; his attention was now fixed on the scene unfolding before him. The ghoul from the tree line jumped down to meet its prey, its form was near skeletal save for its mantis-like pincers and snapping jaw. It must've startled the little one, as her crying and whimpers had ceased, replaced with uncontrollable shaking. With each passing second it stalked closer, the little one had enough sense to back away, though; she was slowly being back unto a tree. She'd be trapped in. This ghoul behaved much like Carol did that night; teasing, stalking, and instilling fear into the heart of the victim.

"Save her if you want, but what do you think will happen if you do?" Lincoln's struggling ceased. "Stop and imagine it if you will, what will happen if you show up in front of humans with a child in your arms? She might show you gratitude…but what of the rest? Will they see you as some hero? Or a monster that needs to be put down? And the child, will she remember you as the creature that saved her, or will you be nothing more than a memory she chalks to being nothing more than a silly dream?"

Again, he could hear the ghoul growing ever closer, the fear in the air was overwhelming toxic, and he was pretty sure he felt a puddle of drool forming in his faceless mouth. How that was possible he cared nothing for at the moment, choosing to swiftly break himself from Carol's grasps and act. She said nothing more, instead opting to watch. This was by no means a test of skill; rather she smirked as the young Loud dashed in in the hopes of saving the day like one of his comic stories.

As the ghoul was about to sink its teeth into the young child, it seemingly froze in place. The little one, having shielded her eyes with her arms peered over to see the monster somewhat frozen, or rather, restrained. Tentacles gripped its body dragging it back with vigor, slamming the feral against a nearby tree.

The creature whimpered in pain, struggling to maintain balance as it snarled at the newcomer that dared interrupt its meal. Though, upon seeing the newcomer, the ghoul was a little less than intimidated to see one of its own standing upright, tentacles slithering around him, and all the while he wore a slightly dirtied human garb.

Without warning, two other ferals emerged from the thickets, each taking flanking positions. Their snarls were aimed both at Lincoln, and each other. The ghouls were by no means a pack, rather, they were lone wolf hunters, and they each saw one another as competition for the same source of food. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Lincoln's tendrils quickly scooped up the girl, a quick yelp escaped her lips as she was hoisted into the boy's grasps. This did not go unnoticed as the other ghouls now focused their attention on him, and judging by the way they were stalking towards him, they were attempting to strike at him in the hopes that they'd be able to snatch away their meal.

What made this a rather surreal moment was the fact that these ghouls were unsettlingly similar to one another in appearance. Was this what ferals became? Mindless drones, all of them losing any semblance of individuality and thought. Lincoln couldn't dwell on that thought as the first ghoul charge straight at him; it lunged with an open jaw prepped to sink its teeth into the opposing ghoul. By reflex alone, or so he assumed as he did not act on the attack, three of his tendrils shot forward, smacking the feral away with a forceful slap before colliding against the feral attempting to flank left. The two were forced against a tree, letting out a yelp before whimpering at the pain they'd been feeling from the attack.

"Ghouls are relatively thick skinned." Lincoln's head shot up, Carol was sitting comfortably on a tree branch, watching this all unfold while snacking on what Lincoln could only assume to be some forest creature she snatched up. "Against any other foe we are formidable, damn near impossible to kill. But against a fellow ghoul, our attacks yield a greater result due to our bodies being made of a damn near same genetic makeup, regardless of certain factors that should make it relatively impossible. Simply put it; against humans we might as well be tanks. But against one another…well. Oh…and heads up, honey." Her bloodied smirk gestured to his right, the feral was midway into its lunge when one of Lincoln's tendrils shot forward, grasping the ghouls by its neck.

' _Dammit, focus!'_ The voice in his head shouted, she must've been the one to react to the attacker. Which, in this one instance, made Lincoln glad to have her on his side. With a swift motion the ghoul was tossed towards the other downed ferals. The other two wasted no time throwing their kin to the side, their attentions focused on the human child cocooned within this ghoul's tendrils.

Carol was watching everything unfold, her eyes fixed on Lincoln as she watched his rather indecent appendages slither about, a plethora indecent scenarios formed in her head. And while there was much she still needed to teach the young boy over, she wouldn't deny herself a bit of fun. Still, she was wary of the extra voice roaming in Lincoln's head. While she was by no means close to offing Carol, the blonde wouldn't deny how pushed against a corner she felt in her match against this female version of Lincoln.

From her position, she watched the three ghouls try and flank him once more, even going so far as to attempting to gnaw off his tendrils, only for the appendages to grow back at frightening speed, and his tendrils sending his opponents flying backwards once more. Carol knew Lincoln couldn't fight these three forever, he'd tire, and when he did the ferals would make every attempt to claim their prize; the human.

Of course, even the boy realized how outmatched he was. Without warning, Lincoln managed to hoist the three ghouls into the air, and toss them against several nearby trees. It wasn't the act that surprised her, but rather, the fact that when her eyes returned to Lincoln, the ashen ghoul had disappeared. She quickly caught a faint trace of his scent, as did the other three as they rose up to give chase. But before they could bolt into action, Carol raised a palm, and they froze in place.

Her eyes were fixed on the path where Lincoln escaped through. She slid down, landing in between the beasts; each quickly bowed and stood aside for the blonde. They made no attempts to attack her, and with every movement she made, they awaited her call. Carol raised a single palm up, causing the small group to once again freeze in place. With an uninterested expression, she waved her hand, the group dispersed almost immediately as they had been called. To where they went she cared nothing for, the only thing that mattered to her was their obedience. As she walked towards a small clearing, the faint sound of rustling branches caught her attention. She gave whatever emerged from the thickets a half-hearted peek. She watched as a classmate, a jock she knew of, stumbled out of the bushes. His cloths were tattered, dirtied, and his constant grumbling was heard from where she stood. He had a colorful vocabulary, at some point she had to keep herself composed when he mumbled to himself about meeting a certain someone deep in the forest.

She stood in place, watched as he dusted himself off before realizing there was a blonde staring at him in the middle of a small clearing, the fresh blood dripping from her mouth and the dead creature still in her grasps. The look on that teen's face was…boring, she'd seen the horrified and the confused before, it meant little to her now. Although, it wasn't the expressions on these human's faces that got her riled up.

"C-carol?" He stuttered, seeing his classmate with the half eaten corpse of a forest creature held firmly in her hand. All the while she was staring at him with lifeless crimson orbs, and from the look of it she was actually chewing faintly on what could possibly be a chunk of the flesh, if the unnerving crunch sounds were of any indication. "What the hell…" He began backing away, his feet treading cautiously as his hairs stood on end with the sound of rustling leaves above him.

With a small wave of her hand, there was a sudden pounce from the treelines, following the sudden yelp was a screech of unbridled terror, mixed in with the tearing of flesh. The bloodcurdling scream ended too quickly for her liking, but nonetheless, she relished in every second of it. When she peered over to where her ghouls were ravaging their kill, she could no longer discern any feature that would've given hint that the prey was ever human; only a bloodied and torn jacket remained. The kill was a quick and, from how she trained these ferals; excruciatingly painful death for whatever she deemed a target for them. The only issue was how quickly they finished off their target; preferably the human's screams would've lasted longer. Though, given that their first meal was denied to them, the quick consumption of the jock was to be expected.

She couldn't care less for these fools for wandering so far into the forest, and she wouldn't pass up a fresh meal for the hungry. Humans were abundant after all, what's one less in the world?

Leaving these three to their meal, Carol paced calmly down the trail Lincoln escaped through, still munching on the critter's carcass as she traversed the forest.

Meanwhile, having swung through the tree lines thanks to the added assistance of his tendrils, Lincoln was able to get a good distance away, stopping only once he reached a river. Surprisingly, he found himself in no way short of breath despite the mad dash he made to escape. He would've relished the added stamina that came with his new form, however, what broke the moment of appreciation for his ghoulish abilities; his tendrils were trembling. Not on their own accord, though. Rather, when unraveling, Lincoln could hear the barely hushed sobbing of the young child he managed to save from the ferals. She was shaking violently in his grasp, her eyes shut tightly, refusing to even peek when she was placed on a boulder by the water.

Lincoln said nothing, he didn't know what to say; this child was scared out of her mind, what could he say to calm her down when he vaguely resembled the very things that attacked her?

Knowing he needed to get her back to civilization, and quickly if he was going to avoid another run-in with the ferals; he needed as much information from her as he could get. Very softly, he spoke, the eerie echo mixed with gargling following with each sound he made.

"Hey…" She flinched. He almost felt guilty. "Kid…" She didn't respond, choosing instead to keep her head low. Lincoln knew it would take time for her to adjust and slowly attempt to trust him, but right now they were on a time limit, and Carol would not give him a second chance to attempt a rescue. "Darcy." He called her by name. A mistake, probably, but he needed her attention at its fullest.

Slowly, she raised her head up, her eyes still filled with fear, and tears streaming down her cheeks. However, upon locking eyes with him, one could detect a faint sense of curiosity. He knew the girl, he'd seen her a couple times with his younger sister, though, he'd never actually spoken to her much before.

"I need you to tell me if you remember how you came to this part of the forest." he spoke as gently as he could; a sign of relief was seeing her fear slowly subside.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, timidly.

"I hear and see many things in this forest; secrets, memories…and I have seen you many times." Truth be told, that wasn't much of a lie. Although, if only seen as a small technicality.

Darcy looked at him with owlish eyes before her head drooped down. "I want my mommy." She mumbled, making Lincoln realize how eerie his words were to the child.

"And I will take you to her. But first, I need you to tell me if you remember how you got here." His words did little to ease her, and when she shook her head it made the situation all the more difficult.

"I don't remember. I saw a nice lady and she told me there was something cool she wanted to show me." Nice lady? "I see her a lot when my sister brings her over." So, a friend of her sister's? Maybe another ghoul by chance? If that was the case, he already had a good guess as to who it was. "I followed her…but she was too fast for me…" She started sniffling; remember how she came to find herself lost in the forest. "I got lost; I called for help but no one answered…and then those things…"

She didn't need to finish, it was short and simple, but it got the message across.

"Hmm, alright." He rose up, took a quick glance around, hoping to spot something, anything really, that would give him an idea as to where to take this girl. As he shifted, her head rose up; watching him extend into the sky, proving her savior was almost as tall as the trees around him, at least from her point of view. "There has to be a way to figure out where to take you…" He mumbled, his tendrils copied his motions; each glancing every which way, taking whiffs of the air to find some form of bearings. One stopped mid sniff, the others followed suit as their attention faced south. Lincoln's head turned to the south. The scent gave away an approaching newcomer, as the rustling bushes were a clear indication. He could hear and smell them, though, it was faint. That meant this newcomer was still a ways away.

Still, there was something about their smell that left him with mixed feelings; it was a human. Just from the smell alone he couldn't tell whether this human would someone he could leave the girl with, or perhaps an unsavory type whom would only cause more harm than good. It was a wild card, but it had better odds than leaving her with a ghoul, that much was certain.

Believing himself to have more time before this human reached their location, Lincoln turned back to the girl. "There's someone coming this way, hopefully they will help you out of the forest." He commented, glancing up to the trees and hoping they'd be thick enough to hide him enough to keep an eye on the two as they traverse the forest, the last thing he needed was Carol or one of the ferals sneaking up on them. The sounds of rustling bushes forced his head to snap towards the noise; once again, he knew this human. Of all of the people that had to stumble into the forest, at this very moment, at this exact location; if there was a god, then he was tormenting the boy on so many levels.

The reactions this newcomer showed were exactly what he expected, she gazed at him with widened eyes, rubbing them ferociously before attempting to glance back. When the faceless figure was indeed real and not some figment of her imagination; she did what most would. She fainted, falling backwards unto the shrubs she emerged from.

The two by the river looked at the teen's body unceremoniously strewn over the leaves with no words to describe this. Of course, the fact that she was closer rather than far, according to his senses, meant something was off with him. Either his ghoul senses were failing him, or something was tampering with his awareness.

"Jackie?" His attention was caught by the young girl hopping down from boulder and crossing the shallow river to reach the unconscious teen.

Lincoln followed, cautiously, if his sense didn't pick up on how close she was to begin with, then it was possible there were more humans around he didn't pick up on. Keeping his distance, he watched as Darcy leaned over, getting a better view at the high schooler. "You know her?"

She nodded, her eyes bulging at the realization that the creature that saved her was still present; and the teen in front of her had seen it too. She glanced back to the creature, her body still shaking upon seeing it still rather close to her. It bent over, seemingly examining the unconscious girl as well.

For Lincoln, this was another hindrance in his attempt to take the girl to safety, mostly due to the fact that there was now a possible group of humans searching for Darcy, and it gave Carol more viable subjects for her experimentations. Or, and worst case scenario; the ferals would have a field day with the live game for them to hunt. But then, that also raised another alarming issue; the forest was silent. Save for the passing wind and flowing streams, Lincoln couldn't smell wildlife. He caught whiffs of birds and rodents in the trees, but they were eerily silent.

The vegetation had grown exponentially, to the point that he felt if he left these two humans to wander; they'd be lost a mere few seconds after venturing into the thickets.

'Incoming! Behind you!'

Lincoln acted, shielding Darcy as he felt a wave of heat splash across his back, earning a painful snarl from the ghoul. After assuring the young girl was fine, or rather, that she wasn't too hurt, he turned to face his attacker. What he saw was of no surprise, but rather, he hated the ever so smug grin she sported as she approached him.

"Hello love…" The blood smears around her mouth were of little care to him; but he could hear the whimpering coming from the little girl as she, surprisingly, clung to him tighter. "How did it feel to play the hero? Did you have fun? Good." He recognized that tone, she was getting antsy; his defiance was unnerving to her, and the fact that he'd go out of his way to save a human rather than obey her greatly irritated the mimic ghoul. "Now, I think we've had enough of this…" Carol outstretched her arm. "Give her to me."

Lincoln could smell the fear from Darcy, she tried hiding behind him, dong anything to avoid being under Carol's gaze.

"Now." She lightly snarled, all of which with her usual grin.

"Why?" Lincoln kept a hand on Darcy, hoping to reassure her as he took a few steps back. His tendrils slithered over to the passed out teen, slowly enveloping her into their grasps as Carol's focus was solely on Lincoln.

She pointed towards the young girl. "She's seen too much, she cannot be allowed to leave this forest." Her voice deepened, a hissing snarl escaped alongside her demand as she inched ever forward.

'She won't say anything." Lincoln argued, his tendrils hissing at Carol as she continued forward. "And even if she did do you really think people will believe the stories of a child?"

"It doesn't matter." Carol stopped, a mere few feet from the boy. "All it takes is one. It doesn't matter if its truth, a lie, or rumor…in the absence of evidence humans will believe what they want to believe. Imagination will take hold; they will create their own theories of what our presence means. Some will say we are from only the beginning of the end; a holy war of heaven and hell with us as the spark. Others will attempt to explain it logically; via a virus, an otherworldly cause, or that we are a dormant species awoken from the constant meddling of humanity's destruction of the planet." Carol's grin lost its hostility, replaced by a moment of both irritation and genuine giddiness. "But the truth won't matter, nor will the lies. Because the only thing stronger than fear; is curiosity. They will come in droves; parties of all kind will wander the Royal Woods forest in search of these strange beings. And when the death tolls start to rise; our existence as nothing more than a child's tall tale will come into question. Our people will be discovered eventually, and genocide will follow. Mark my words, love."

That was not what he expected, by far. Lincoln expected Carol to make some outlandish claim that the humans are better served as food for the ever growing ghouls. But, even she, despite her obvious disdain for humanity, saw the prospect of war between a species of enhanced supernatural creatures that ranged in the low hundreds against a species in the billions would indeed be a one-sided war. Granted, given the unique abilities of ghouls, Lincoln was sure if such a war ever occurred, the ghouls would deal a great blow before being killed off.

But then, something sparked in his head from Carol's speech; parties will wander the Royal Woods forest. They were in Royal Woods, meaning home was closer than he expected. Granted, Darcy's presence kind of gave that away, but now it was confirmed. Not allowing Carol a chance to continue talking, or attempt to catch up to him, Lincoln hoisted Darcy into his arms, pulling his tendrils close to him with the teen wrapped firmly in place, and dove back into the forest.

All the while Carol remained in place, showing no attempt to give chase; she didn't need to. She knew exactly what she said to her ghoul, and she knew for a fact he'd use that to quickly find a way out of the forest. She didn't deliver that speech for no reason either, it wasn't aimed at the child; she probably wouldn't even remember it come the following morning. No, it was meant for Lincoln, and as soon as he realized it, the teen that had regained conscious but remained limp and silent. It surprised Carol that Lincoln hadn't noticed, she did, and it took all her will power not to show her face to the girl, given that the two attended the same school.

She could only speculate, and it was a small stretch; the second voice had something to do with Lincoln's senses being tampered with. Carol smiled, realizing this little anomaly was surprising her with twists around every corner, and she was absolutely giddy over it.

Once she couldn't catch Lincoln's scent, she decided to play out the next phase of her plan. One was to see whether or not Lincoln could actually hold his own against another ghoul, to test out his abilities and determine whether or nor her theory was correct, and the next batch of ghouls would be similar to Lincoln. The second phase was simply to force the boy's hand. With this test she would throw at him, there would only be one end to it, and damned if Lincoln was going to go soft on her at any given point. As she'd done before; Carol raised her palm. However, rather than three, only a single ghoul emerged from the thickets.

Its height was around the same as Lincoln's ghoul form; however, this creature was bulkier in its anatomy. Stitches adorned its body as it slumped forward, walking on its arms and hooves, its upper chest and shoulders were shrouded in thick dark brown fur, with a furless pale-like abdomen. Adorned atop its head was the skull of a deer, piercing yellow orbs broke through the eye sockets as the creature stopped at Carol's side.

This thing was no pinnacle of creation, nor was it her magnum opus. But she wouldn't deny it to be her favorite achievement. It was strong, intimidating, ruthless, sadistic, and most importantly; it was obedient. Among other things, this ghoul was not feral, but it wasn't sentient either. At least, not in the way she and Lincoln were. Something occurred with this one's reformation stage, its body progressed at an accelerated rate, but his mind regressed. And now, what she was left with was a creature with less than half a brain, a near indestructible body, a kink for torturing its victims before slowly killing them, and unwavering obedience to her. It should've been a dream to have such a thing in her possession, but Carol wouldn't deny that she found something lacking in this creation. Something she had hoped to find in Lincoln. She gave it a half-hearted glance, it would understand her orders, it retained that much of consciousness at least. "The ghoul is not to be killed." It snarled, quietly. "The child is to be left alone." It growled, clearly annoyed by her reluctance to allow it to have its fun. "But anything else…" Her grin returned. "Is yours." Needing no further orders, the creature growled just a bit louder before charging into the same direction Lincoln ran in.

Carol watched as its silhouette disappeared among the green. She walked calmly forward, following their trail. She intended to see how this all played out, but she was not heartless either, regardless of what others claimed. She had released another one of the ghouls she had in her possession to aid Lincoln. However, whether or not she'd be useful was still to be seen. And, of course, whether or not Lincoln would be able to control her should the inevitable arise.

* * *

 **Ok, let me start off by saying this update is long overdue, and I mean that in the way that I had planned to publish this a while back, but had to hold back on it cause I didn't like how I wrote it, and none of my rewrites satisfied me. And believe me the original chapter that I completed was way darker than what I settled on. Helluva lot more gory than what this chapter had. That, and I wanted to extend lost in the forest story. I realized I was rushing way too fast with the story so this will take, not too long, but enough to add a small arc to my story. Keep in mind guys this was a co-written story before I had to take full reigns. So, updates will be a little slow, but I will add as much as I can to them to keep you guys on your toes. With that said, I'm here is not dead, and I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Also, for the ghouls in this chapter, specifically the three ferals; I had the Flood from Halo in mind when I wrote them. I was playing Halo 2, reliving some childhood memories, and as I was playing the levels with the flood involved I listened to the noises they make and I thought to myself; damn…these still creep the hell out of me….I think you all know what default sounds I gave the ghouls in this story. To make it easier, it's more along the lines of Flood horde/ Gravemind scream. Have fun with that! (And this is not the end of them, they shall comeback later on)**

 **The big one though, at the end, has no scream, just deep guttural grunts and snarls…like flood tanks…**


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